Liverpool 6-0 Newcastle: Reds Find Their Scoring Touch At St. James’ Park

Newcastle United remain in the thick of the relegation battle after a confident Liverpool side went into St. James’ Park with a point to prove. In their first game without suspended Luis Suarez, the Reds completely dominated the hosts on their way to a 6-0 drubbing of the Magpies.

In a game that could have seen Alan Pardew’s side all-but-clinch their place in the Premier League next season, the Magpies were absolutely terrible, and their lack of effort surely left Newcastle supporters embarrassed and angry. The team seemed lackluster from the start, and Liverpool took full advantage.

It did not take long for Brendan Rodgers’ side to get the scoring started, with Daniel Agger providing the opening goal after just three minutes. The defender was easily able to find open space in the Newcastle box and head home a lofted cross from Stewart Downing.

The Reds’ lead was doubled 14 minutes later, and this time it was Jordan Henderson finishing off a beautiful team goal. Daniel Sturridge started the move with a nice layoff to an on-running Philippe Coutinho just inside midfield. The Brazilian then found Sturridge with a delightful outside-of-the-foot pass through the middle of the defense, and the forward calmly squared the ball to a streaking Henderson to finish off the play around a helpless Robert Elliot.

The hosts’ only real chance of the first half came with about 10 minutes to go, with James Perch connecting to a Massadio Haidara cross, but the midfielder wasted the opportunity with a header that went wide of Pepe Reina’s net.

Pardew made a double change at halftime, bringing on Hatem Ben Arfa and Yoan Gouffran, and the new attackers seemed to bring a spark to the Magpies. Newcastle showed a renewed desire at the start of the second half, and looked to get back into the match. However, these hopes were dashed after nine minutes, with Liverpool putting the game away with their third goal.

The impressive Coutinho was again at the heart of the attack, dispossessing Ben Arfa on the right sideline and dashing forward towards the Newcastle back-line. Showing his quick thinking and pinpoint passing, the new Liverpool #10 scooped a pass between two Magpie defenders into the path of Sturridge, who blasted the ball past Elliot and into the back of the net.

With just 54 minutes gone in the match, St. James’ Park began to empty as frustrated fans could no longer bear to watch the lopsided affair. Much to the dismay of Pardew and the remaining supporters, the scoring was far from done for the visiting Reds.

Sturridge got his second of the match in the 60th minute, and it was another beauty from the Merseysiders. Steven Gerrard played a lovely pass over the defense to Henderson on the left side, and the midfielder returned the favor from earlier in the match and squared to an unmarked Sturridge to finish into the ever-open Newcastle goal.

Gerrard was given his first rest of the Premier League season after 73 minutes, making way for Fabio Borini. The Italian, who had not featured for the Reds since his february shoulder surgery, continued the scoring just a minute after being introduced. Following a tricky bit of skill on the right side of the box, Stewart Downing found Borini in the middle of the area, and the Italian poked the ball into the bottom corner to make it 5-0. It was Borini’s first Premier League goal since joining Liverpool last summer.

Somehow, things managed to get even worse for Newcastle just two minutes later. After Coutinho won yet another 50-50 challenge on the left side, Mathieu Debuchy made a very hard tackle on the Brazilian that warranted a second yellow for the Magpie defender.

On the ensuing free kick, Henderson got his second goal of the match. The midfielder sent a bending ball into the six yard box that went untouched and found the far corner of Elliot’s goal to make the score an embarrassing 6-0.

The scoring finally stopped at 6-0, with Liverpool happy to see out the final fifteen or so minutes and maintain their clean sheet.

The loss leaves Newcastle in 16th place and just five points clear of the drop zone having played a game more than the four teams below them. With two away matches against West Ham and QPR in the coming weeks, followed by a home match against Arsenal, Alan Pardew and his club need to secure a few results to avoid relegation. With 37 points, the Magpies are three points away from the sought-after 40 points that are thought to ensure EPL survival.

Liverpool remain in 7th in the Premier League table on 54 points, five points behind rivals Everton. With the Merseyside derby to be played next Sunday at Anfield, the Reds have a great chance to edge closer to at least a 6th place finish and, more importantly, a finish ahead of their cross-town rivals.