History Has Been Made, Liverpool Records 2000 Victory When Tearing Newcastle 3-1

Sadio Mane and Mo Salah (Twitter @LFC)

JAKARTA - Liverpool made a historic record as the first team to pocket two thousand wins in the highest caste of English Premier League football when they beat Newcastle United with a score of 3-1 in match week 17 at Anfield Stadium, Thursday local time.

Quoted from Antara, Friday, Liverpool reached this figure after playing no less than 4,227 highest-caste league matches with a total record of 2,000 wins, 1,047 draws, and 1.180 defeats.

𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗜𝗡, 𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗦! 😍 pic.twitter.com/DUNO12scM0

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 16, 2021

The historic score was also peppered with a fine individual achievement for Mohamed Salah, who scored Liverpool's second goal of the match this time.

The goal was Salah's fifth goal in five home games against Newcastle, making him a fertile record every time he played for Liverpool against the Magpies at Anfield.

Salah gave Liverpool a complete turnaround after being surprised by his own former midfielder, Jonjo Shelvey, who scored just seven minutes after kicking off Thiago Alcantara's poor clearance to give Newcastle the lead.

Liverpool scored their return in the 21st minute through Diogo Jota's second chance after his header was denied by Martin Dubravka.

The first team in English history to record 2,000 victories in the top-flight 👏🔴 pic.twitter.com/tf982XhTES

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 16, 2021

The Newcastle players had time to protest the goal because Isaac Hayden collided with his teammate and lay in the middle of the penalty box, but referee Mike Dean judged no foul occurred and still awarded the goal.

Four minutes later, Shelvey turned from a hero to a loser for making a blunder that led to Liverpool's turnaround goal.

Shelvey's feedback was snatched up by Sadio Mane who kept trying to get a shot despite being tackled from behind by a Newcastle player, the ball was blocked by Dubravka but fell in front of Salah who just grabbed it to put Liverpool ahead.

Since then Liverpool has continued to dominate the game and Newcastle has tried to hit back through counter-attacking situations.

The first player to score in 5️⃣ Anfield league games in succession against Newcastle 🇪🇬👑 pic.twitter.com/9KcnAlpVQf

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 16, 2021

Newcastle's players had demanded a penalty when Ryan Fraser fell in a scramble for the ball with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 64th minute. The referee and VAR ignored the demands, especially replays showing Alexander-Arnold managed to reach the ball first.

Newcastle's efforts to recover were increasingly met with challenges as their main attacking creator Allan Saint-Maximin asked to be sent off due to injury in the 79th minute to be replaced by Callum Wilson.

Liverpool continued to press and Newcastle's backline struggled to thwart Jota and Naby Keita's attempts to prolong their breath.

Liverpool's dominant display with 74 percent possession was then completed in a 3-1 victory by Alexander-Arnold who scored three minutes from normal dispersal with an accurate long-range shot that barely gave Dubravka a chance to anticipate.

This victory makes Juergen Klopp's team continue to keep their chances in the title race, with Liverpool sitting in second place with 40 points and only one point adrift of Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Newcastle, who has only won once this season, is stuck in 19th place with 10 points.

In the next match, Liverpool will travel to Tottenham Hotspur headquarters on Sunday the day after tomorrow if that match is possible given that the opposing squad is experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases.

Liverpool has also lost three players including Virgil van Dijk and Fabinho who tested positive for Covid-19 along with Curtis Jones.

Meanwhile, Newcastle is scheduled to host Manchester City at St. James' Park on the same day.