Reds enjoy St James' romp

Liverpool will head into 2009 on top of the table after an emphatic 5-1 victory over hapless Newcastle.

Leaders dazzle on Tyneside after woeful defending by Magpies

Liverpool will head into 2009 on top of the Premier League table after an emphatic 5-1 victory over hapless Newcastle United at St James' Park. Spirits on Tyneside had been lifted by owner Mike Ashley's pre-game announcement that the club are no longer for sale, but that buoyancy quickly evaporated as Liverpool should have put the game out of sight by half-time. Poor finishing and inspired goalkeeping from Shay Given kept the scores level until the 31st minute when Steven Gerrard crashed his shot in off the post following a neat move involving Javier Mascherano and Yossi Benayoun. Just five minutes later Sami Hyypia, who had already gone close twice, rose above Fabricio Coloccini to head home a Gerrard corner. Newcastle gave themselves hope for the second half when David Edgar headed home a corner at the near post in injury-time. However, the hosts' gameplan was in disarray again five minutes after the interval when Ryan Babel poked home from close range after a string of defenders failed to clear a corner. Gerrard grabbed his second of the game on 66 minutes when he darted on to a superb through ball from Lucas before clipping a delicate shot over Given and the rout was complete on 77 minutes when Xabi Alonso tucked away a penalty after substitute David N'Gog had been tripped by Edgar.

Torn apart

The Magpies were torn apart by the visitors in a breathtaking first 45 minutes which demonstrated once again just how important Given is to the club. The Irishman was one of three Magpies, along with Steven Taylor and Charles N'Zogbia, to be linked with a January move to Arsenal by one newspaper this morning, but had it not been for him, his side could have conceded at least eight by the time they headed back into the dressing room. In the space of four minutes, he parried Dirk Kuyt's drive at the near post, blocked Gerrard's flick and then pulled off a stunning one-handed save to deny the Reds skipper. But his work was not done and he had twice thwarted Lucas by the time the clock ticked around to the 20-minute mark before keeping out Hyypia's 42nd-minute header with the help of N'Zogbia on the line. However, by that point, he had been beaten twice as the rampant visitors finally made the pressure tell, Gerrard sweeping the ball home from Benayoun's 31st-minute cut-back before Hyypia headed home his captain's corner five minutes later. Liverpool were simply irresistible, and a rout seemed on the cards.

Rallied

But the Magpies rallied and after Taylor had headed a Danny Guthrie corner wide, Edgar proved the man for the big occasion once again. Just short of two years ago, the Canadian marked his home debut with a stunning equaliser against Manchester United, and when he headed another Guthrie set-piece home in injury-time his side at least had hope. Half-time substitute Shola Ameobi almost made an immediate impact when Michael Owen only just failed to meet his 48th-minute cross with a diving header, but Liverpool's advantage was restored within two minutes. Referee Mark Halsey was simply not interested in the home side's appeals for handball after Hyypia and then Lucas had helped on Gerrard's corner, and Babel stabbed the loose ball home to make it 3-1. Joe Kinnear's resources were stretched further with 56 minutes gone when Nicky Butt limped off to be replaced by Geremi, although the Cameroon international almost dragged his side back into the game on the hour. After Owen had been cynically tripped by Mascherano, Geremi drove the resulting free-kick against the bar with goalkeeper Jose Reina beaten. But if the game was not already over, the result was put beyond doubt with 24 minutes remaining when Gerrard ran on to Lucas' pass and lifted the ball nonchalantly over Given to make it 4-1. Alonso made it five from the penalty spot after Edgar had tripped Ngog with 77 minutes gone, and although Guthrie and Taylor both went close, Given had to make a superb double stop to deny Lucas and then Babel at the death.

Newcastle United	Team Statistics	Liverpool
1	Goals	5
1	1st Half Goals	2
6	Shots on Target	13
3	Shots off Target	9
3	Blocked Shots	3
4	Corners	9
7	Fouls	11
3	Offsides	5
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
77.1	Passing Success	87.3
18	Tackles	20
61.1	Tackles Success	65
40.6	Possession	59.4
51.5	Territorial Advantage	48.5