Murphy illuminates Anfield

Liverpool...3  Newcastle...0  A power failure delayed the kick-off by half-an-hour last night but Liverpool refused to let time weigh heavily on their championship aspirations. Two goals from Danny Murphy and one from Dieter Hamann took them towards the win they needed to keep pace with the leaders. Newcastle United, for the most part, were simply blown away.

A Champions League place was not the prime issue, as a 10-point gap had opened up between fourth-placed Newcastle and their closest pursuers. Keeping Arsenal and Manchester United in sight was the common aim.

Liverpool played three strikers - Emile Heskey, Nicolas Anelka and Michael Owen - from the start, with Heskey wide on the left.

The pace and persistence of Liverpool's opening movements twice came close to gaining them an early lead.

Owen, as ever, represented Liverpool's brightest hope of victory. Refreshed after a weekend rest, the England striker's speed of reaction posed an immediate problem for Newcastle's central defenders.

In the seventh minute he was only just denied a shot from Vladimir Smicer's low centre, and in the eighth Nikos Dabizas risked conceding a penalty as he blocked Owen's run on to a long ball upfield from Sami Hyypia. But the challenge was legal, just, as was the tackle which later sent Anelka flying in the goalmouth.

If not Owen, then Anelka perhaps. Just past the quarter-hour the Frenchman turned sharply on to Smicer's pass and from the right-hand corner of the area produced a rocket of a shot which Shay Given, still in excellent form for Newcastle managed to turn against the near angle of post and bar.

Another two minutes and Anelka missed a simpler chance. Another long ball from defence, this time from Stéphane Henchoz, sent him clear and onside but after cutting inside Dabizas he wafted his shot wide.

Although still without the strength and nous of Steven Gerrard, Liverpool were having little difficulty carrying the game to their opponents. Newcastle, on the other hand, badly needed the pace Craig Bellamy and Kieron Dyer would normally give to their attacks, especially on the break.

When Liverpool did take the lead in the 32nd minute the goal was fashioned for Owen but scored by Murphy. Again Anelka outstripped Newcastle on the right and again Owen was waiting in the middle, but the opportunity appeared to have been wasted by Anelka's poor pass from the byline.

The ball went behind Owen but Murphy had made an inspired dash on the left which saw him arrive at the perfect moment to score with a low shot inside the near post.

For Newcastle to establish a significant presence they needed to establish regular links with Alan Shearer and Carl Cort, who for long periods were reduced to the roles of spectators. Nolberto Solano and Laurent Robert, moreover, had to become more influential in the wide positions.

Easier said than done, however, given Liverpool's remorseless pressure, which would have seen them score again early in the second half had Heskey kept his toe down when meeting a centre from Smicer. Not that a second goal was long delayed, nor was the scorer any longer a surprise.

After 52 minutes Heskey brought the ball in from the left with the idea of creating something around the penalty arc. Eventually it reached Smicer who laid off a short pass for Murphy to force his way past the defence and send a shot beyond Given's right hand.

Newcastle were punished in the 75th minute again when their old boy Hamann, receiving from Smicer, struck a low 20-yard shot crisply into Given's left-hand corner for Liverpool's third goal.

Guardian Service

LIVERPOOL: Dudek, Xavier, Henchoz, Hyypia, Riise, Smicer (Barmby 81), Murphy, Hamann, Heskey, Owen (Litmanen 71), Anelka. Subs Not Used: Kirkland, McAllister, Wright. Goals: Murphy 32, 53, Hamann 75.

NEWCASTLE: Given, Hughes, O'Brien, Dabizas, Distin, Solano, Jenas, Speed (Acuna 37), Robert, Shearer, Cort (Bernard 76). Subs Not Used: Harper, Elliott, Ameobi.

Referee: J Winter (Stockton-on-Tees).