PREMIER LEAGUE: LIVERPOOL 3 NEWCASTLE 0

Liverpool's push to
end the season in a
European place
continued after they
brushed aside
Newcastle 3-0 to
move up to fifth on
the table.
Goals from Maxi
Rodriguez, Dirk Kuyt
and Luis Suarez
gave Kenny
Dalglish's side a
comfortable 3-0 win
at Anfield and sees
them overtake Tottenham in fifth place, albeit on
goal difference.
The hosts opened the scoring with 10 minutes
of the game gone, forward Rodriguez adding to
the three goals he bagged against Birmingham
last weekend.
Young left-back John Flanagan sent in an inviting
cross that was not dealt with by Newcastle
defender Mike Williamson, and Rodriguez's
volley from 12 yards took a deflection off Danny
Simpson before flying past Krul into the net.
The visitors struggled to get a foot-hold in the
game and could not cope with Liverpool's
intensity as the first-half progressed.
Jay Spearing, standing in for the injured Steven
Gerrard, then forced Newcastle goalkeeper Tim
Krul into a mistake after his fierce drive was
spilled by the 22-year-old, but the stopper
recovered the ball with Dirk Kuyt and Raul
Meireles closing in.
Winger Jonas Gutierrez was proving difficult to
handle down the right flank however it was
Liverpool who again threatened.
Midfielder Lucas should have done better with
his header after Spearing's cross and could only
send a tame effort straight at Krul to still give
Newcastle hope of getting back into the game.
But any chance of that was extinguished when
Williamson hauled down striker Suarez just
following the re-start after the Uruguayan had
beaten him for pace in the box and Kuyt
dispatched the ball into the goal from the penalty
spot.
And Liverpool made sure of the points five
minutes later after some neat inter-changes
from Kuyt and Suarez found the latter in space
giving him an easy finish from six yards.