- Lovren scores in 1st half
- Salah wins, converts penalty
- Shaqiri, Fabinho add insurance
Liverpool clobbered Newcastle United 4-0 on Boxing Day at Anfield, moving six points clear of second place Tottenham Hotspur.
Dejan Lovren, Mohamed Salah, Xherdan Shaqiri, and Fabinho scored for the Reds, who are now unbeaten in 20-straight Premier League matches. They have a seven-point advantage on third place Man City.
Newcastle is five points clear of the drop zone, but began a daunting run of fixtures at Anfield.
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Matt Ritchie supplied a terrific cross over the head of Virgil van Dijk in the 8th minute, but Joselu failed to turn it on goal and Liverpool were off the hook.
The Reds quickly answered with a chance of its own, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane teaming up to find Xherdan Shaqiri. The Swiss midfielder missed the mark.
Lovren put Liverpool ahead when Jamaal Lascelles’ poor clearance of an Andy Robertson cross was lashed into the top of the goal from 16 yards.
The Reds were off-and-running, with Anfield behind them, and it was all Martin Dubravka could do to stop Mane from making it 2-0 when the keeper sprawled in front of the Senegalese man’s effort.
Ritchie took a ball off of Robertson following a partially-cleared cross, stinging a shot wide of the far corner from 20_plus yards.
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10 - Mohamed Salah has scored in 10 Premier League games this season, more than any other player in the competition. Regular.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2018
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Paul Dummett got a hold of Salah and the Egyptian wizard hit the deck to ask for a penalty. He got it, and converted, for 2-0 in the 48th.
Shaqiri then put it to bed -- not like Newcastle looked in danger of scoring more than once in the half -- when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s smart pass along the six capped off a long spell of threats from the hosts.
Fabinho got in front of Mohamed Diame to finish the scoring.
