• Date: Sat 08 March 2008
  • Venue: Anfield
  • Ref: Walton, P
  • Attendance: 44,031
Liverpool

Liverpool

Pennant (43)

Torres (45)

Gerrard (51)

3 - 0

Liverpool vs Newcastle United

Team Lineups

Liverpool

Jose Manuel Reina
Alvaro Arbeloa
Martin Skrtel
Jamie Carragher
Steven Gerrard (Dirk Kuyt, 66)
Leiva Lucas
John Arne Riise
Xabi Alonso
Yossi Benayoun
Jermaine Pennant (Sami Hyypia, 78)
Fernando Torres (Peter Crouch, 72)

Newcastle United

Steve Harper
Jose Sanchez Enrique
Habib Beye
Steven Taylor, S
Damien Duff (Obafemi Martins, 58)
Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye
James Milner (Njitap Geremi, 44)
Nicky Butt
Charles N'Zogbia
Alan Smith
Michael Owen


Live Text Commentary
Full time
 

It's finished 3-0 as Liverpool move three points ahead of Everton in the race for fourth while Newcastle are now in deep relegation trouble.

89

Hyypia tries to find Lucas but Newcastle defend well - two minutes of stoppage time to play

86

Liverpool are closing in on another three points here with less than five minutes left

83

Kuyt forces Harper into a good save before Riise strikes the rebound - but again Harper saves well

81

Liverpool win a corner - so easy for the home side now

78
Substitution
 

Pennant goes off - Sami Hyypia is on for him

76

N'Zogbia's pass is intended for Martins but Reina comes out well to gather the ball

74

Skrtel gives away a corner - Newcastle have done better in the last 10 minutes

71
Substitution
 

Torres goes off and Peter Crouch is given barely 20 minutes to impress by Benitez

69

Martins strikes a shot from at least 35 yards but it hits the top of the crossbar - a brilliant effort

67

Martins drags a shot just wide but Newcastle look well beaten now

65
Substitution
 

Gerrard is replaced by Kuyt

62

Dirk Kuyt looks like he'll be coming on soon for Liverpool

59

Gerrard and Torres have been quite simply outstanding again today - Liverpool are looking full value for their lead

58
Substitution
 

Duff is replaced by Obafemi Martins for Newcastle

57

Gerrard forces Harper into a wonderful save - almost 4-0 there

56

Geremi's cross just evades Owen - a chance for Newcastle though

53

It could be a case of how many Liverpool score now, as Newcastle are dejected after that third goal

51
Goal
 

Gerrard makes it 3-0, latching onto Torres' pass and it looks like game over already

50

Lucas races onto an excellent Gerrard pass but the ball goes out and Newcastle survive

49

Harper has to rush out of his goal to blast the ball into the stand

47

No changes by either manager at half-time

Second half
 

The second 45 minutes gets underway, with Liverpool now attacking The Kop - just how they like it

Half time
 

Liverpool lead 2-0 at the break after a fluke from Pennant and a wonderful second from Torres but it's slightly harsh on Newcastle, who had done well up until going behind

45
Goal
 

Liverpool get a second goal in quick succession - Torres dummies the ball to deceive Harper before scoring, another superb goal from the in-form Spaniard

44
Substitution
 

James Milner has picked up a knock and is replaced by Geremi

43
Goal
 

Pennant's freak goal puts Liverpool in front from Enrique's clearance the ball canons off him and into the net

42

Gerrard goes down after being barged over in the box by Enrique but referee Peter Walton says no pen - it could easily have been given though

39

After a lively start to the game, it's gone a bit quiet at Anfield with a lack of clear chances for either side

36

Liverpool take a quick free-kick but Gerrard's shot is blocked well by Harper

34

Pennant wastes another corner

33

Newcastle will be pleased with how things have gone so far - the game's finely balanced

30

Lucas goes down in the box under a challenge from Habib Beye but it never really looked like a penalty

28

Conditions are a bit tricky at the moment as the rain falls heavily at Anfield

26

N'Zogbia's resultant free-kick is woeful from a decent position out wide

26
Yellow Card
 

Owen's shot is deflected before Riise is booked for a poor challenge

24

Liverpool are having the more possession but lack a cutting edge just at the moment

21

Pennant's corner is cleared by Newcastle but Torres wins the ball back and Liverpool break again but Newcastle are defending well

18

Gerrard strikes an effort from distance but Harper watches it all the way and claims the ball well

16

Newcastle waste a corner but the Magpies have been fairly impressive at Anfield so far this afternoon

14

It's been a lively start with chances at either end so far

11

Torres fires a powerful shot at goal but Steve Harper turns it behind for a corner

10

Damien Duff's shot deflects off John Arne Riise for a Newcastle corner from which Alan Smith's header is tipped wide by Jose Reina for another corner

8

Martin Skrtel crashes into the advertising boards at The Kop end after a challenge from former Liverpool favourite Michael Owen

7

Enrique breaks up another Liverpool attack as the home side start to take control of possession

5

Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard combine well but Steven Taylor defends superbly

4

Jamie Carragher does well at the back for Liverpool and a Newcastle attack is broken up

3

A scrappy opening couple of minutes so far with neither side carving out any chances

Kickoff
 

The action gets underway at Anfield, with fourth-placed Liverpool looking to move three points clear of Everton with a win, while Kevin Keegan looks for his first win since returning as Newcastle boss

Awaiting Kickoff
 

Reds boss Rafa Benitez makes three changes - Jermaine Pennant and Yossi Benayoun are in for Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt while Javier Mascherano is injured so Lucas also starts. Just one change for Newcastle as Charles N'Zogbia comes in for Joey Barton.