Eddie Howe reacts to Newcastle United’s Liverpool loss - and the Magpies’ first home defeat in 2022

A first-half Naby Keita goal was enough to ensure Liverpool returned to the top of the Premier League - and inflicted Newcastle United’s first home loss of 2022.

It was a controversial call on the terraces, with referee Andre Marriner, taking some stick for his decision to allow play to continue despite a percieved foul on Fabian Schar in the build up. However, replays showed it was a fair call - and the Reds were well worth their win in the end.

Here’s how the Magpies’ head coach Eddie Howe reacted to the result - and the Schar call.

He said: “If VAR doesn’t intervene, I assume we have nothing to complain about. We were obviously disappointed. In the heart of defence we were light on bodies.”

Howe added: “I think Liverpool were probably not at their best but we weren’t either and when you play these games you have to be. We competed well but lacked the quality that could have got us a goal.

“It is difficult to it consistently against Liverpool as they have the quality to produce a counter-attack out of nothing. We were much more aggressive in the second half but did not have any concerted pressure in the game.

“We were not at our best today but we were still in the game right to the end, so there are positives to take. But we set our standards very high and next week we have to do much better.