We'll never know what would have happened had Martin Skrtel not made the save of the game Friday. The Liverpool defender heroically cleared Demba Ba's goal-bound shot off the goal line, preserving the Reds' lead over Newcastle.
Craig Bellamy put LFC ahead 2-1 with a free kick in the 67th minute. Three minutes later red-hot Newcastle striker Ba nearly tied the score.
Ba ran onto a perfectly-delivered through ball from Yohan Cabaye and chipped his shot over Pepe Reina toward the goal. The unyielding Skrtel raced to intercept it and cleared Ba's shot from danger, sacrificing his own body in the process. The moment encapsulates what is becoming a fantastic season for the Slovak defender.
After his dismissal against Tottenham in September, Skrtel has started the last 14 league games and stabilized the LFC defense. His partnership with Daniel Agger has erased pre and early-season fears of defensive frailty and turned Liverpool's reargaurd into the stingiest in the Premier League. The Reds have conceded a league-low 15 goals in 19 games.
Review all the action from Friday's game in our Liverpool Live Blog.
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