Eddie Howe makes honest Anfield claim and triple penalty admission after Newcastle's loss to Liverpool

Eddie Howe felt key decisions went against Newcastle United in their loss to Liverpool at Anfield.

The Reds earned a 4-2 victory over the Magpies to move three points clear at the top of the Premier League. The game was goalless at half-time, with Mo Salah missing a penalty for the home side while both outfits hit the back of the net only for offside.

The encounter then burst into life after the interval. Salah opened the scoring on 49 minutes but Newcastle equalised through Alexander Isak. Liverpool then scored two quickfire goals through Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo before Magpies defender Sven Botman reduced the arrears. Salah was then given a second chance from the penalty spot with four minute remaining after Diogo Jota was fouled - and this time finished with aplomb.

Howe reckons that Jota should have been awarded a spot-kick as there was not enough contact from goalkeeper Martin Dubravka. And he believes Newcastle deserved a chance to equalise from 12 yards only moments beforehand. The Toon boss said: “For me, that shouldn’t be given.

“I think Martin has pulled his hands away, he’s taken two steps before he’s gone down so for me it’s not a penalty. Sean Longstaff’s one was, just before that incident. Even the first one I can see why it’s given but the contact was so minimal so we feel hard done by on those decisions.”

Howe admitted he would have taken scoring two goals at Anfield - one of the hardest places to play in the Premier League - before kick-off but defending proved Newcastle's downfall. He added: "I don't think we were as good as we wanted to be with the ball - we gave the ball away too much. In the times we did play well enough to play around their press, we did give them problems. I thought there were some really good moments for us. We scored two goals away from home at one of the toughest places in the Premier League, you'd have obviously taken that to win the game but our defensive game wasn't good enough to win the game.

"I don't want to sit and make excuses because you'll be tired of writing it - but we do have half of our team out, which is a reality and that will make a difference. Today, how many attacking players could I change in running? It's a difficult situation."