Liverpool squandered back-to-back home wins in a draw with Newcastle.

Mohamed Salah opened the scoring inside four minutes as he executed a brilliant shot on the turn to rifle into the top corner of Martin Dubravka’s net.

But the Reds failed to make their dominance count, spurning a succession of chances, allowing their visitors to grow in confidence as the game developed.

Steve Bruce’s side saw their first late equaliser ruled out after VAR deemed Callum Wilson had handled the ball before turning it into an empty net.

However the Magpies scored again in the third minute of stoppage time when Joe Willock’s low shot was deflected past Allison Becker to snatch a point.

Here were the key talking points from Anfield:

Wasteful Reds pay the price

 

Events of the past week left a sour taste on and off the pitch for Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s side found themselves caught in the eye of the storm by the club’s decision to join the ill-fated European Super League late last weekend.

But any hopes that the Reds could banish a forgettable few days by returning to winning ways were undone by yet another unhelpful internal mechanism.

Their wastefulness in front of goal is becoming something of a going concern after drawing successive games despite enjoying the lion’s share of chances.

The fallen Premier League champions followed up a profligate return at Leeds with a similarly skewed turnout in their eventual stalemate with Newcastle.

They recorded 21 efforts in total but crucially just nine found the target. Worse still, Mohamed Salah’s opener proved to be as good as things got.

Sadio Mane became the worst offender by spurning a succession of one-on-one openings that Martin Dubravka was able to counter with relative ease.

Others were similarly guilty, with Diogo Jota flashing several shots wide of goal from close-range to allow the visitors to ultimately grow in confidence.

If this result becomes a deciding factor in Liverpool’s Champions League bid falling short then they only have themselves to blame for the price paid.

Salah now true Anfield royalty

 

Liverpool long knew that they possessed a special talent in Salah, but the statistics bear out just how monumental his ongoing achievements remain.

A 20th Premier League goal of the season elevated the Egypt international into esteemed yet remarkably unchartered territory in Anfield’s hall of fame.

No other player has reached that number for the club in three different top-flight campaigns, including Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler and Luis Suarez.

To find a close equivalent, Kopites would have to thumb through the record books all the way back to Ian Rush’s hauls between 1982/83 and 1986/87.

Comparisons between Salah and Liverpool’s record all-time goal scorer are valid, with both surpassing the 20-goal mark in three out of four seasons.

The 28-year-old’s execution for his side’s opener was befitting of his latest landmark, too, with wonderful close control and a rifled shot on the turn.

For all the previous derision of being a ‘one-season wonder’, Salah is still scoring for fun and cementing his status as bona fide Anfield royalty.

No room for error in top four bid

 

Klopp will reflect on this result as not just an opportunity missed in the race for a top four finish but also one which leaves his team with no more off-days.

On paper, a struggling Newcastle were highly beatable. Had their hosts taken the myriad chances created, they would have been out of sight by half time.

The concerning aspect for Liverpool is that they have to face teams in a similar predicament to the Magpies during the final weeks of this campaign.

Next weekend’s trip to Manchester United is followed by encounters with Southampton, West Brom and Burnley: sides still scrapping for their survival.

Heading to Old Trafford is tricky at the best of times but doing so burdened by the need to be infallible makes the task ahead a somewhat daunting one.

Chelsea occupy the box seat in the hunt for Champions League qualification but West Ham, Everton and Tottenham are all still in with a realistic shout.

Liverpool, meanwhile, have now used up all their bad days at the office. Another in the run-in could prove the final nail in their top four hopes.

Klopp gets it wrong again

 

A period of widespread reflection followed at Anfield in the Super League fallout. Even Klopp himself admitted that he had made huge mistakes.

The Liverpool manager offered a mea culpa in his programme notes for criticising fan groups who planned to withdraw their banners from The Kop.

Yet Klopp’s in-game management placed him under fresh scrutiny with a series of substitutions which altered the dynamic of this game for his side.

Hooking Jota for James Milner made sense, especially with the Portuguese forward seemingly incapable of punishing a Newcastle team on the back foot.

Tweaking the midfield further by replacing Thiago Alcantara with Curtis Jones, however, proved a costly choice as the visitors were beginning to scent blood.

The former Bayern Munich enforcer has withstood more than a fair share of critics but his withdrawal merely accelerated Newcastle’s counter attacks.

Klopp’s decision to swap him out for a more attack-minded midfield option in Jones, who barely put a foot wrong, is one which he may come to regret.