"Kapanpun saya kembali ke Liverpool atau di manapun saya berada di dunia ini, suporter Liverpool selalu mendatangi saya dan kita akan berbicara tentang pertandingan, yang manapun. Hal ini akan selalu terjadi, selamanya."
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Jonathan Northcroft, writing in The Times, believes Liverpool have finally fixed their defence after the introductions of Virgil van Dijk and Loris Karius.
"The return of Rafa Benitez might have once provoked nostalgia at Anfield but the here and now is too sweet for that, for Liverpool fans presently. Yet another goal for Mohamed Salah and yet another self-assured win brought their side back to second in the Premier League. A team that were flaky in autumn now look a machine coming into spring.
"Fixing their back four has helped effect the change. This was another match through which Virgil van Dijk strolled, and Andy Robertson ran and ran, and behind them Loris Karius was as convincing as he — or indeed Simon Mignolet — has ever seemed. But the power of Jurgen Klopp’s side remains in its forward line. Salah’s deadly first touch and deadlier finishing swung a tight first half their way in the 40th minute, and a sublime team attack, finished by Sadio Mane, sealed the victory in the 54th."
In the Mirror, David Maddock's analysis takes a closer look at Jose Mourinho's decision to allow Mohamed Salah to leave Chelsea.
"It makes him joint top scorer in the Premier League alongside Harry Kane on 24, and also takes him to 32 to in all competitions for the season...which is the same number Newcastle have scored in total all season.
"That statistic more than any other puts into perspective Jose Mourinho's decision to allow the little Egyptian to leave Chelsea.
"Yes he has improved since his time at Stamford Bridge, but surely the latent talent was there.
"Playing in Italy certainly brought more of it out, without the physical demands of the Premier League, but Jurgen Klopp has brought even more out of him.
"That is a lesson to those who appoint cheque book managers. Sometimes, you need talent development too."
Joe Bernstein, writing in The Mail, says that the extraordinary Mohamed Salah puts bums in seats at Anfield
"When Salah is star billing, there is always reason to buy a ticket.
"He scored for the seventh game in a row to break the deadlock after 40 minutes, taking a clever pass from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with his right foot, before shifting it to his left before finishing between the legs of goalkeeper Martin Dubrakva.
"It was the Egyptian's 32nd goal of an extraordinary debut season on Merseyside, 24 of them in the league.
"He is the main reason Liverpool have won 10 of their last 13 matches and though Jurgen Klopp doesn't like talking about one or two players rather than the team, he can't ignore Salah."
The Telegraph's Chris Bascombe believes fans are watching Anfield's most exciting team since 1990 - and that trophies might not be far off.
"Whether unintentional or by design, it seems churlish to assess what on the surface is a thoroughly impressive and exceedingly enjoyable Liverpool team, only to poke the finger and state it is not so remarkable until they win something. It’s rather like these weekly fun festivals will be contaminated until such time everyone goes home with a shiny prize. However long it takes for Klopp to get to the ultimate destination, the fact such a scenic route is being taken is worthy of acknowledgement.
"Klopp has not completed two full seasons at this club. He still has plenty of time and space to work to get where he – as much as anyone – yearns to be.
"The latest comfortable victory underlined why this is the most entertaining Anfield team since the club’s last league title in 1990. They scored their 200th goal of the Klopp reign in his 97th fixture. For the record, it took Benitez 134 to get to that tally."
Paul Wilson, of The Observer, believes Liverpool could be close to clinching a place in the top four.
"Liverpool were not at their sparking best on a bitterly cold and slightly foggy evening on Merseyside, though partly thanks to Mohamed Salah keeping up his scoring run they were too lively for Newcastle and are now up to second in the table. Their supporters probably do not expect them to stay there for very long but the significance of this result, apart from bringing up 200 Premier League goals under Jürgen Klopp, is that should Chelsea lose to Manchester City on Sunday there will be a seven-point cushion between Liverpool and the dreaded fifth place. Unless Chelsea win, in fact, the fight for top-four places could be as good as over.
"Early interest was provided by the question of how quickly Salah could get onto the scoresheet. The Egypt international had scored in each of his last six Liverpool games before Saturday, and one more here took him to 32 in all competitions this season, exactly the same as the entire Newcastle team have managed thus far."
The Express' Tim Abraham believes Mohamed Salah will have an eye on Ian Rush's goalscoring record.
"Benitez, who lives over the River Mersey on the Wirral, is still revered by the supporters of the club for the miracle of Istanbul’s Champions League triumph of 2005. However, with Liverpool in such a rich vein of form it was always going to be a challenge to maintain that statistic – particularly when Liverpool have Salah in their ranks.
"The Egyptian took his tally to 32 goals in all competitions and with nine Premier League games left. However far Liverpool go in the Champions League he will surely now have one eye on Ian Rush’s record for goals in one season.
"That stands at 47 set during 1983-84 but given Salah’s hot streak it should prove within his grasp provided he stays fit. Salah scored first and Sadio Mane added a second in what was ultimately a comfortable victory for Jurgen Klopp’s side and consolidated their position in the Premier League’s top four."
And Simon Hughes, writing for The Independent, was impressed with Liverpool's grit to get past Rafa Benitez's organised side.
This was an important victory for Liverpool because it means they are ahead of Chelsea by seven points and Chelsea go to Manchester City tomorrow, a ground no visiting team has won at in the league since December 2016, though that visiting team was, indeed, Chelsea.
It also ended up being the sort of win that will surely delight Liverpool’s manager Jürgen Klopp because it proved to be convincing in spite of Benítez textbook defensive strategy and his team’s organisation and commitment.
Meanwhile, Chris Waugh, Newcastle reporter for The Chronicle, believes Rafa Benitez would love another crack at the Liverpool job - but did not enjoy his return to Anfield one bit.
"Benitez loves returning to Anfield. There are even those who believe that, deep down, he would one day relish the opportunity to have another crack at the Liverpool job.
"And, while he received a warm welcome from the home support as he always does on the red half of Merseyside, he cannot have enjoyed this game.
"Standing just yards from the home dugout he prowled so successfully for six seasons, Benitez was forced to revert to a gameplan whereby the end game was effectively damage limitation."
Our very own James Pearce believes Jurgen Klopp's transfer policy and hard work is really starting to pay off - you can read his match verdict here.
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"There was no happy return for Benitez this time – a first defeat in six managerial meetings with the Reds.
"But the outpouring of emotion showed Jurgen Klopp the kind of iconic status that awaits him if he can follow in his footsteps and deliver the biggest of prizes.
"The signs are promising. Two-and-a-half years of hard graft and shrewd transfer business has enabled Klopp to establish the perfect platform.
"Liverpool sit second in the Premier League and on the brink of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since Benitez's reign."
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Rafa Benitez thanked Liverpool and Newcastle fans for his reception at Anfield - but said it didn't make up for leaving with no points.
The former Liverpool manager remains a hero to many on the Kop and his name rang out on several occasions from the home end as well as being sung fairly incessantly by his new devotees from the north east.
At one point towards the end his name was ringing out from all four corners of Anfield.
After watching his side lose 2-0 to goals from Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, the Spaniard couldn't help but be disappointed despite the warmth of his welcome.
Benitez said: ""Obviously on a personal level I'm really pleased with our fans and the Liverpool fans. Both were really good for me.
"But still we didn't get any points, so I'm happy but still really disappointed."
Benitez set his team up to be compact with five at the back and it frustrated Liverpool for 40 minutes until Salah made the breakthrough.
"I have to say I'm not happy. I don't like to lose, even if the game plan is good for 40 minutes - it has to be good for 90 minutes.
"We did well, we were defending well, we have to be more dangerous in counter-attack. We concede when we gave the ball away in the middle and afterwards we have the chance which could change everything.
"But at the start of the second half, another mistake giving the ball away and we conceded again.
"We changed things, tried to be more offensive and then we were open and that's when we had two or three counter-attacks, things which you don't like to see.
"But happy with the approach of the team, happy with the work-rate but not happy with the result."
The Spaniard felt his team paid for mistakes especially with the quality available to Liverpool among the front three.
"We knew they were dangerous. they press quickly, they regain the ball quickly and we knew we had to be careful with that and do the right things. But you cannot guarantee you will not make mistakes.
"And if you make mistakes at this level - and you have the players at the front they do - then you will pay for that.
"You come here trying to get points - the reality is you have to win games."
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Southampton and Huddersfield now represent big games for Benitez in his quest to keep the Geordies in the Premier League.
He said: "Southampton will be dangerous, people think they are struggling but they're still a very good team. And Huddersfield we have seen they are well organsied. It's not that you are better than them, and you will win because you play at home, so will win. Every game will be difficult."
The Newcastle boss played down a challenge from his captain Jamaal Lascelles in injury time on Mohamed Salah which looked like it could have brought a red card but referee Graham Scott waved play on.
"I watched it from the bench and watching the reply it was a doubt, it was not very clear. So maybe the referee had the same vision and that is the reason he didn't do anything.
"We were playing against one of the top sides in England. The money in the Premier League is so massive that it's a big difference when you go to the market.
"For 40 minutes we were controlling the game defensively but against these teams if you make a mistake, normally you pay for that."
As ever, Liverpool's efforts in securing a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday evening generated plenty of discussion and analysis once the action concluded.
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane were the goalscorers at Anfield as the Reds claimed a fourth consecutive win in all competitions and reached 200 Premier League goals under Jürgen Klopp.
Here, we examine five of the post-match talking points in more detail…
Patience is a virtue…
Having had to wait almost half an hour before finding the breakthrough against West Ham United the previous weekend, it looked like Saturday’s clash might be goalless at the interval.
Newcastle’s organised approach – only to be expected from a Rafael Benitez team – kept the Premier League’s second-highest scorers at bay even longer.
But the patience within both the team and the crowd meant the Reds simply continued to play their football and although there was a fortunate bounce at the beginning of the move, their calmness and confidence paid dividends in the 40th minute when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked the right option and Salah converted.
“I think people are now more convinced that it can happen at one moment in the game than they were before. That helps massively,” said Klopp after the final whistle.
Another crucial Loris Karius save…
That Liverpool maintained their new-found lead into the half-time break was thanks to a magnificent save from their goalkeeper in the closing seconds.
Mo Diame’s curling, dipping effort from the edge of the area was destined to creep under the crossbar at the Kop end until Karius got firm fingertips on the ball and clawed it away.
“Fantastic, world-class,” was the manager’s description.
For the 24-year-old, who produced a similarly excellent stop to thwart West Ham’s Marko Arnautovic a week earlier, it helped to secure his fourth clean sheet in six matches.
Watch Karius' superb save from Diame
A captain’s performance by Jordan Henderson…
“He caught my eye because he showed his passing range. He was really productive and positive with his passing,” said former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy on Match of the Day.
“He has got all the abilities to play the holding role – athleticism, interceptions, tackles and organising. We saw the full range of his passing and I thought he was terrific.”
The statistics show Murphy was spot-on.
Henderson had 113 touches, the most of any midfielder on the pitch, and played 100 passes as he simultaneously stopped the opposition and got his own team on the front foot.
Classic Liverpool for the second goal…
This one didn’t quite prompt a ‘that’s football!’ outburst from Klopp, but it was right up there with the Reds’ most pleasing-on-the-eye team moves of the whole season.
Roberto Firmino won the ball back in his own half and suddenly it was all one-touch, slick stuff; Emre Can to Oxlade-Chamberlain to Mane, back to Can to Firmino and finally through to Mane’s run from the Brazilian for a precise finish.
“I would have a ligament injury in the ankle if I tried [Firmino’s assist],” said Klopp. “He did it and Sadio could score. That’s teamwork and I love that most, to be honest.”
Mane’s strike was his 14th of the campaign – already more than the entirety of 2016-17.
LFCTV GO: Mane caps off clinical team move
The growing influence of Oxlade-Chamberlain…
“It was always going to take him weeks, if not a couple of months, to adapt into Jürgen’s way. But good players adapt and adapt quickly.
“Alex has worked hard, he was patient and didn’t complain; he knew himself it was about him adapting to Liverpool rather than the other way around. He has done it very well. He looks like he’s playing with confidence and he looks like he’s happy.”
The words of Steven Gerrard as he reflected on the Reds’ display at Anfield, which saw Oxlade-Chamberlain named Man of the Match after his latest industrious performance - including setting up the opener.
It was the No.21’s fifth assist of the season in the Premier League and he has now created 32 chances, behind only the front three of Firmino, Mane and Salah.
