Newcastle to see off Brendan Rodgers' inconsistent Liverpool
1-0 at St James' Park.
The Spaniard netted the decisive goal in the 2-1 triumph at
Tottenham last Sunday and came off the bench here to earn
Newcastle's fourth win in a row in all competitions and move
them to within a point of Liverpool.
The Premier League's highest scoring fixture - having yielded
129 goals before this meeting - looked set to be heading for a
goalless draw until Perez's strike, which condemned the
visitors to their fourth top-flight defeat of the season.
Both clubs progressed to the League Cup quarter-finals in
midweek, with Newcastle having further alleviated the pressure
on manager Alan Pardew by producing a shock 2-0 victory
over holders Manchester City.
There were two much-changed sides that lined up on Saturday
and Pardew reaped the rewards from having rested several key
players for Wednesday's trip to the Etihad Stadium.
Pardew admitted that the weakened team he named against
City was a nod towards the importance of this fixture, with five
players - Tim Krul, Steven Taylor, Moussa Sissoko, Sammy
Ameobi and Papiss Cisse - returning and Mehdi Abeid earning a
Premier League debut.
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers also made numerous changes
from the League Cup success over Swansea City, and Mario
Balotelli was rewarded for his equalising goal off the bench in
that 2-1 triumph as the Italian was handed a start, with Steven
Gerrard and Raheem Sterling coming back into the side.
The hosts had appeals for a penalty waved away by referee
Andre Marriner in the 10th minute when Sissoko went to
ground under a challenge from Joe Allen, with replays
suggesting they had cause to feel aggrieved.
Newcastle suffered a blow midway through the half when
Gabriel Obertan, scorer of the winning goal in his side's last
home match against Leicester City, pulled up while chasing a
long ball down the right, with Rolando Aarons on in his place.
Liverpool survived a scare late in the half when Cisse's goal-
bound shot was headed away by the alert Glen Johnson, while
Martin Skrtel headed Gerrard's corner wide from eight yards at
the other end.
Cisse did not return for the second half as Perez was brought on
to add fresh impetus to Newcastle's attack, with that change
ultimately proving crucial.
Tempers flared around the hour mark, firstly when Sissokho wa
perhaps lucky to avoid a red card for a studs-up foul on Joe
Allen, and then as Daryl Janmaat scythed down Balotelli. Both
men were cautions.
Coutinho saw a header well saved by Tim Krul between those
two incidents, and former Sunderland man Fabio Borini
threatened with a powerful low strike from the edge of the area
two minutes after coming off the bench, but it was Perez who
made the breakthrough.
Sissoko's cross was not dealt with by Alberto Moreno and Perez
was on hand to fire the ball home from close range.
A rapid breakaway almost led to a second when Remy
Cabella and Perez linked well, but the Frenchman's effort was
kept out by the right foot of Simon Mignolet, who had dived the
other way.
Liverpool offered little in the closing stages and, with a trip to
the Santiago Bernabeu to take on European champions Real
Madrid coming up on Tuesday, Rodgers was left with plenty to
ponder
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.
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