Salah scores brace as Liverpool overcome Newcastle

Liverpool opened up a three-point gap at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a 4-2 win over Newcastle United at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's men dominated the early stages of the game, pressuring Newcastle United into their defensive third.

 A close opportunity arose just two minutes in when Trent Alexander-Arnold's shot narrowly missed the left post after a deflection.

In the 12th minute, Alexander-Arnold provided an opening with a precise pass to Darwin Nunez, who, after a quick exchange with Mohamed Salah, had a chance on goal but couldn't beat Martin Dubravka.

The Reds managed to score in the 18th minute through Luis Diaz, but the goal was disallowed for a marginal offside after a lengthy VAR review.

Shortly after, Diaz was fouled in the box by Sven Botman but from the penalty spot Salah's attempt down the center was saved by Dubravka. 

Despite being outplayed, Newcastle almost scored before half-time, with Dan Burn's goal disallowed for offside after a VAR check.

Trent Alexander-Arnold nearly scored a wonder goal, volleying from a tight angle that rattled the crossbar.

The hosts finally broke the deadlock early in the second half, with Salah tapping in from eight yards after a sweeping team move.

Nunez missed two chances to extend the lead before Alexander Isak equalised for Newcastle in the 53rd minute. 

Liverpool went in front with 74 minutes on the clock when in a great team move, substitute Diogo Jota set up Curtis Jones, who tapped in.

Just four minutes later, substitute Cody Gakpo made it 3-1, converting Salah's cross. Newcastle pulled one back through Sven Botman in the 81st minute.

In the 86th minute, Liverpool put the game to bed when Diogo Jota was brought down by Martin Dubravka in the box and this time Salah made no mistake and secured a 4-2 victory from the penalty spot in his last game before joining his national team ahead of the African Cup of Nations.

The win extended Liverpool's lead in the Premier League by three points, while Newcastle dropped to ninth in the table.