Trent Alexander-Arnold insists Liverpool didn't 'cheat' in build-up to goal that left Eddie Howe and Newcastle United fans fuming

Newcastle United led 1-0 at Anfield thanks to an early Jonjo Shelvey strike before Liverpool found an equaliser. The Reds levelling seemed inevitable once The Magpies took a surprise lead, but the manner of the equaliser certainly left a bitter taste in the mouth of head coach Eddie Howe.

Diogo Jota made it 1-1 with a close range strike, all while Newcastle had Isaac Hayden and Fabian Schar on the ground following a coming together inside the penalty area. Hayden in particular was seen to be holding his head.

Liverpool took the lead five minutes later through Mohamed Salah before Trent Alexander-Arnold secured the victory with a 30-yard rocket late in the game.

And Alexander-Arnold felt his side simply ‘played to the whistle’ in regards to the opening goal and it was referee Mike Dean’s decision whether to stop play or not.

“When you're playing and you're in and around their box, you're not really looking at who's down on the ground or who's up, you're looking for your teammates trying to score, your eyes are not focused on the ground,” Alexander-Arnold told BT Sport.

"If it's a head injury it's up to the ref to stop it and he hasn't done that. We've played to the whistle and we've gone and scored, that's all you can really do.

"We haven't cheated the game, we haven't done anything unsportsmanlike, we've played to the whistle and scored from it.”

And Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp claimed he didn’t get a proper look at what happened.

“I didn't see it but I've just heard Eddie's interview and he's obviously not happy about the situation,” he said.

“Really frequently players go down in the box when they lose a challenge. The assistant on my side called me and told me it's all good, two [Newcastle] players bounced into each other but I didn't see it.”

The defeat leaves Newcastle three points from safety and 19th in the Premier League table with matches against Manchester City and Manchester United at St James’s Park to come over the festive period – if they go ahead.

Five Premier League matches have already been called off this weekend due to COVID-19 outbreaks at various clubs, including Manchester United.

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Newcastle United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription; sign up here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor