Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp challenged his players to use back-to-back Premier League victories over Everton and Newcastle as a springboard to drag themselves up the table.
Saturday evening's eventful 2-0 win at St James' Park, which came five days after their derby success by the same scoreline, eased the Reds to within six points of the fourth-placed Magpies with a game in hand.
Significantly, it was achieved courtesy of a second successive clean sheet – something they have not done in the league since October – much to Klopp’s delight.
He said: "Massive, 100%. It explains a little bit the issues we have in the games where we can’t control it better. It’s so long ago we were in a situation like that.
"It’s unfortunate that football is not like cycling, always exactly on the same level. It’s different. The only way you can get back on track is by winning.
"We’ve now done it twice in a row and that feels absolutely incredible."
Liverpool twice breached a Newcastle defence, which has won rave reviews this season, inside the opening 17 minutes. Darwin Nunez made the most of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s superb ball over the top before Cody Gakpo repeated the feat with the assistance of Mohamed Salah.
The Magpies’ woes deepened significantly with 22 minutes gone when goalkeeper Nick Pope handled outside his area as he attempted to prevent Salah from reaching Alisson Becker’s clearance and was sent off, and although the Brazilian had to tip a searing Allan Saint-Maximin shot on to his crossbar, which was thumped by a Dan Burn header minutes later, the points were safe.
Klopp said: "We didn’t score [a third] and that keeps the game exciting and Newcastle, all credit to them, they put a proper shift in, they really wanted to go for it, they fought really hard.
"That’s why it was exciting until the end, but we got the three points and we are very happy about that."
The only fly in the ointment for the visitors was the shoulder injury Nunez suffered in a second-half tangle with Kieran Trippier.
Klopp said: "The bad news, Darwin has something on his shoulder. We will see.
"We need further assessment. I don’t know in the moment. In the moment it is painful, but hopefully it’s just painful and not more."
"We lost having a real go at a top team with 10 men for a huge part of the game"
Meanwhile, Eddie Howe has urged Newcastle to take heart from a difficult night as they turn their attention to the Carabao Cup final.
The Magpies will attempt to end the club's 68-year wait for a domestic trophy when they run out against Manchester United at Wembley next Sunday on the back of just their second Premier League defeat of the season, both at the hands of Liverpool.
Asked about the impact of a tumultuous evening on Tyneside, he said: "I don’t think it will be damaging for us because of the manner of the defeat.
"No-one wants to lose, but there are ways to lose. We lost having a real go at a top team with 10 men for a huge part of the game.
"We passed the ball, we still tried to press them and not be too passive, we counter-attacked really well, so there were a lot of aspects of our play that were very, very good.
"If anything from the players’ perspective, it should whet the appetite for what we can be. If we can play that way with a man down, what can we do with even numbers?"
Newcastle had conceded only 13 league goals in 22 games before Liverpool – the only team to have taken three points against them this season before kick-off – arrived at St James’ Park.
But within 22 minutes, they had been fatally undone through Nunez and Gakpo strikes and Pope handling outside his box.
The former Burnley keeper, one of the Magpies stand-out performers since his £10million summer arrival, knew instantly the implication of his error, and with Martin Dubravka cup-tied and Karl Darlow on loan at Hull, Loris Karius, yet to appear for his new club, looks certain to be handed the chance to erase the memory of his 2018 Champions League final disaster in what proved to be his final game for Liverpool.
Howe, who will have key midfielder Bruno Guimaraes back from his three-match suspension at Wembley and hopes Joe Willock will be fit after a hamstring injury, now faces the task of circling the wagons with the club’s hopes of a top-four finish having been dealt a further blow after a run of five draws in six outings.
Asked if a testing night could prove good preparation for Sunday’s game, he replied: "Yes, you can look at it that way. I think you have to look at it positively. Probably it was ideal opposition for next week.
"But we weren’t looking at it that way. We were looking to try to win this Premier League game in isolation and we’re disappointed we haven’t done that."
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