If it was not Steve McClaren’s original intention to start with Georginio Wijnaldum in this match, Newcastle’s manager will be mightily relieved that the Dutchman eventually appeared on the team sheet. Afterwards he would only confirm that he had ‘considered leaving out every one of them’ after those abject performances against Leicester and Crystal Palace. But there is little doubt that he had given serious thought to omitting a Dutchman who would end up securing a precious victory for Newcastle and their beleaguered manager. One that almost certainly saved McClaren from dismissal and, by the former England boss’s own admission, had enabled his side to ‘crawl back’ from the ‘brink of a crisis’.In-form Liverpool headed to St James' Park searching for an eighth win in nine matches under Jurgen KloppGeorginio Wijnaldum's angled shot deflected in to give Steve McClaren's side the lead on 69 minutesThe Dutchman chipped in the home side's second in second half stoppage time to cap a fine counter attackVictory moved Newcastle up to 18th in the Premier League, in the relegation zone only by goal difference
Presumably McClaren told his players during the interval that _ — who had scored 13 goals in their three previous domestic away games — were here for the taking. Newcastle, by contrast, were a little too reliant on long balls hit towards Papiss Cisse, even if a cross from Vurnon Anita almost resulted in the opening goal for the _ striker.