Fight, fights and flags. United undone as Liverpool's push to title goes to the wire.
A tremendous climax to a season at St James Park in everything but the result ended with Liverpool taking all three points and keeping their title challenge alive.
A 2-3 loss for United, punctuated with defending errors, tells nothing of an evening full of incident, pride and passion in what could still yet be Rafa’s last home game at Newcastle United.
Equalisers from Christian Atsu and Salomon Rondon had cancelled out first an unmarked header for van Dijk and then a great finish from Mo Salah. But with just 4 minutes left a dive from Fabinho, one that was met by furious ire by the Newcastle players, allowed Liverpool’s 12th man Marriner to give them a free kick. The resultant dead ball headed, far too easily, past Dubravka to give Liverpool the victory.
Weave into this ‘a flag’, ale fuelled song, away fans violently ejected from the home end, Mo Salah structured off and 8 minutes of injury time, and you get somewhere near telling the story of the entertainment.
Football on Tyneside!
STARTING XI: Dubravka, Manquillo, Lascelles, Schar (Muto, 91), Dummett, Ritchie, Hayden, Ki, Pérez, Atsu, Rondón
More to follow…