Final, 1-0 Newcastle: It’s over at St. James’ Park. Liverpool falls to Newcastle.
Perez’s goal was the difference, as Newcastle tops Liverpool. The Magpies extend their winning streak to three in the Premier League and four in all competitions, while Liverpool’s league unbeaten run ends.
Liverpool failed to convert any of the few chances it created. Newcastle showed more energy, determination and, most alarmingly, quality over the course of 90 minutes. Each of Newcastle’s substitutions helped improve its performance. The Magpies created more scoring chances and ultimately triumphed by punishing Liverpool’s defensive error late in the second half.
The win takes Newcastle up to ninth place in the standings (13 points in 10 games). Liverpool remains stuck in seventh place with 14 points from 10 games.
That’s all for now and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.
90th minute, 1-0 Newcastle: There will be a minimum of three minutes of stoppage time in the second half.
89th minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Lovren is cautioned for tripping Cabella near the sideline.
87th minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Liverpool is controlling possession in the closing stages of the game but continue to struggle to find a breakthrough.
81st minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Sissoko tries to square a pass across the face of goal, but Mignolet blocks it.
80th minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Cabella aims a shot for the top corner but narrowly misses.
80th minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Liverpool makes another substitution. Lambert replaces Coutinho.
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79th minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Colback is cautioned for a foul on Gerrard.
77th minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Cabella breaks free and is one-on-one with Mignolet. Cabella takes a left-footed shot, but Mignolet kicks it away.
73rd minute, 1-0 Newcastle: Perez has given Newcastle the lead.
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Dummett and Sissoko combined on the left before the latter tried lay off a pass inside Liverpool’s penalty area. It deflected to Moreno, but Perez dispossessed him and shot past Mignolet.
72nd minute, 0-0: Henderson is cautioned for an off-the-ball foul on Coloccini.
70th minute, 0-0: Borini fires a shot wide of Krul’s goal.
66th minute, 0-0: Liverpool makes its first substitution, replacing Allen with Borini.
Liverpool likely will play with two strikers, Borini and Balotelli, while Henderson and Gerrard drop deep into the midfield and Sterling and Coutinho take up advanced positions.
Newcastle makes its final substitution. Cabella comes on for Ameobi.
63rd minute, 0-0: Janmaat is cautioned for hacking down Balotelli.
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60th minute, 0-0: Dummett tees up a shot from distance but misses the target.
58th minute, 0-0: The heads of Allen and Sissoko collide, sending both players to the ground. Sissoko is back up first, but Allen needs some treatment.
57th minute, 0-0: Coutinho flashes a header on goal, and Krul makes a fine reflex save. However, it wouldn’t have counted, as Coutinho was offside.
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55th minute, 0-0: Balotelli curls a shot on goal from 25 yards out. Krul saves this one, too.
49th minute, 0-0: Balotelli hits a free kick on goal from 35 yards out, but Krul saves it.
48th minute, 0-0: Sissoko is cautioned for a late, high tackle on Allen.
46th minute, 0-0: The second half is underway.
Newcastle made one change at halftime, replacing Cisse with Perez. Cisse has been struggling with a knee problem in recent weeks.
Halftime, 0-0: That’s the end of the first half. It’s goal-less at St. James’ Park.
These teams haven’t played to a goal-less draw in a league game since February 1974, but the first-half proceedings suggest that it could finally happen Saturday.
Liverpool had more of the possession but posed little threat to Newcastle. The Reds aren’t playing with the attacking fluency Rodgers was hoping to see. Their passing tempo has been too slow and off-the-ball movement also must improve.
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Newcastle  had the better scoring chances but wayward shooting and Johnson’s goal-line clearance kept the Magpies off the scoreboard. While Newcastle fans will lament the penalty appeals that went unheeded, they’ll be happy about their team’s overall performance in the first 45 minutes.
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45th minute +1, 0-0: Cisse shoots the ensuing free kick over Mignolet’s goal.
45th minute, 0-0: Taylor is cautioned for interfering with Mignolet.
44th minute, 0-0: Skrtel is cautioned for a foul on Sissoko, which ended a promising counter-attack.
40th minute, 0-0: Skrtel heads Gerrard’s corner kick wide of Krul’s goal. Skrtel was unmarked seven yards from goal.
38th minute, 0-0: Now Ameobi has a penalty appeal. Allen is the Liverpool player involved, once again, as he and Ameobi became entangled on the goal line.
37th minute, 0-0: Johnson clears Cisse’s shot off the goal line.
Mignolet left his line to punch away a corner kick but failed to make contact on it. It fell to Cisse, who volleyed it on goal, but Johnson headed it out.
35th minute, 0-0: Aarons has drawn two fouls since coming on, earning the Magpies free kicks in dangerous positions. Liverpool has dealt with the danger both times.
Newcastle also is pressuring Liverpool with the same intensity it showed early on, and the Reds are struggling to maintain their advantage in possession and territory.
27th minute, 0-0: Aarons enters the game, replacing the injured Obertan. Aarons, 18, is on somewhat of a hot streak.
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24th minute, 0-0: Obertan is down on the field with an apparent thigh injury. Judging by how Obertan pulled up from his sprint, it’s unlikely that he’ll be able to continue.
17th minute, 0-0: Balotelli fouls Colback inside Newcastle’s penalty area at the tail end of a sequence in which Liverpool had worked the ball nicely into a dangerous area.
15th minute, 0-0: Sissoko’s penalty appeal was the lone flash-point in the first quarter-hour. Liverpool has enjoyed more possession than Newcastle, but the game is bogged down in the middle third of the field.
Ninth minute, 0-0: Sissoko goes down in the penalty area after Allen clips the ball away from behind. The crowd wants a penalty kick, but the referee ignores their appeals.
Sixth minute, 0-0: There has been a fast-paced and balanced opening to the game. Liverpool is trying to establish its dominance in possession and push the game into Newcastle’s half, but the Magpies are pressing in the midfield in an effort to cut off service to Liverpool’s attacking players.
Kickoff: The Premier League game between Liverpool and Newcastle is underway.
Pregame: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has rotated his team again, making nine changes from the starting lineup he fielded Tuesday against Swansea City.
Mignolet will man Liverpool’s goal after watching its last game from the bench.
Moreno and Skrtel return to the starting lineup at left and central defense, respectively.
Gerrard and Allen take up positions in the midfield next to Henderson, who retains his place in the starting XI.
Balotelli scored the game-tying goal against Swansea City. The Italian starts up front. Coutinho and Sterling will support Balotelli in the attack.
Pardew hands Abeid his first Premier League start. The Algerian will play centrally in the Magpies’ midfield.
Here’s what the managers had to say before the game.
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8:15 a.m.: Here are the lineups:
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet (22), goalkeeper
Alberto Moreno (18), left back
Dejan Lovren (6), center back
Martin Skrtel (37), center back
Glen Johnson (2), right back
Steven Gerrard (8), midfielder
Joe Allen (24), midfielder
Jordan Henderson (14), midfielder
Philippe Coutinho (10), forward
Raheem Sterling (31), forward
Mario Balotelli (45), striker
Substitutes
Brad Jones (1), goalkeeper
Kolo Toure (4), defender
Javier Manquillo (19), defender
Emre Can (23), midfielder
Adam Lallana (20), midfielder
Rickie Lambert (9), striker
Fabio Borini (29), striker
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Newcastle
Tim Krul (1), goalkeeper
Paul Dummett (36), left back
Steven Taylor (27), center back
Fabricio Coloccini (2), center back
Daryl Janmaat (22), right back
Moussa Sissoko (7), midfielder
Mehdi Abeid (30), midfielder
Jack Colback (14), midfielder
Gabriel Obertan (25), forward
Sammy Ameobi (28), forward
Papiss Cisse (9), striker
Subsitutes
Rob Elliot (21), goalkeeper
Ryan Taylor (4), defender
Massadio Haidara (19), defender
Remy Cabella (20), midfielder
Rolando Aarons (16), forward
Yoan Gouffran (11), forward
Ayoze Perez (17), striker
8 a.m. ET: Liverpool’s pursuit of Premier League success continues Saturday when it travels north to visit Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
Liverpool puts its four-game league unbeaten streak on the line in the game against the Magpies. A win can help the Reds gain ground on the Premier League’s early pace-setters and halt Newcastle’s revival, while a draw or loss would represent a missed opportunity to improve its seventh-place position.
Newcastle has won its last three games — the most recent being a 2-0 upset win over Manchester City in the Capital One Cup (or Football League Cup) on Wednesday. Manager Alan Pardew’s team is looking to climb from 14th place into the top half of the Premier League standings with a win.
Liverpool-Newcastle kicks off at 8:45 a.m. Stay right here for all the action from St. James’ Park.
Liverpool-Swansea City: Unlikely heroes rescue Reds >>
Newcastle defeats Manchester City in League Cup >>
Photo by LiverpoolFC.com
