Divock Origi came on for the injured Mo Salah and scored a dramatic late winner, just as he did in the Merseyside derby at Anfield in December
THEY simply shall not be moved, this remarkable Liverpool team.
Even with Mo Salah carted off on a stretcher, even with Roberto Firmino sidelined, even after their egos had been bruised by Lionel Messi - and even with the Geordie Nation whipping up a storm.
Even with their squad limitations seemingly exposed, with Divock Origi sent on to partner Daniel Sturridge in a makeshift strikeforce, Jurgen Klopp’s men prevailed.
It was unsung Belgian striker Origi who rose to meet a free-kick form fellow sub Xherdan Shaqiri and head an 86th-minute in the dramatic traditions of classic encounters between Newcastle and Liverpool.
This won had something of those two epic 4-3 Anfield victories over the Toon entertainers of the late 1990s.
This was an eighth successive Premier League victory for Liverpool and it surely means that Manchester City will have to win both of their final two matches, at home to Leicester on Monday and at Brighton next Sunday if they are to retain their title.
Both City and Liverpool have been flawless for over two months - but after Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat by Messi’s Barcelona on Wednesday, it looked as though their hopes of a trophy could have turned to dust in the space of 72 hours.
They led 2-1 at the break, through their two PFA Players of the Year - this year’s winner Virgil Van Dijk and his predecessor Salah - either side of a Christian Atsu effort.
But after the break, the Reds suffered a debilitating double whammy - a Salomon Rondon equaliser and an apparent head injury suffered by Salah in a heavy collision with Martin Dubravka.
Yet even that was not enough to stop Klopp’s men.
If City do continue their own winning streak, Liverpool will surely go down as the greatest runners-up in English football history - not that it will be a terribly soothing consolation.
Newcastle had been the last team to defeat either of the title challengers in the Premier League, stunning Manchester City here in late January.
While a succession of Liverpool draws saw City peg them back, the last two months have been a Mexican stand-off without a single blink.
There was a belief on Tyneside that their boys could be the ones to buck the trend.
Six wins in seven, a vast flag unfurled to cover the entire Gallowgate End and a desire to ensure this would not be ‘adios’ to Benitez.
Yet for the opening 19 minutes, Liverpool were utterly untroubled.
It seemed they had successfully, and quite reasonably, convinced themselves that defeat at the hands of Messi was scarcely a defeat worth worrying - not when they were coming up against 11 mortals.
Daniel Sturridge, enjoying a rare start, pinged a lovely pass in for Sadio Mane before Andy Robertson whipped a cross to the far post where Salah blazed wide.
When another Salah shot was deflected over by Matt Ritchie, though, Liverpool were gifted the lead from the 13th-minute corner.
Trent Alexander-Arnold centred and Van Dijk headed home in glorious isolation, six yards out.
Jamal Lascelles, who seemed to have been marking the Dutchman, had slipped.
And given that Liverpool had suffered from something similar during their previous title challenge, it did not feel like too much of an injustice.
Yet suddenly, Liverpool switched off in defence and allowed wing-back Ritchie an entire postcode of space on the left.
Ayoze Perez found him and he lashed one low back across goal for Salomon Rondon whose shot was cleared off the line by Alexander-Arnold with a deliberate use of his elbow.
The young right-back got lucky that Atsu snapped up the rebound because otherwise he’d have been sent off.
St James’ Park came alive and when the exceptional Fabian Schar played a long pass out of defence, Atsu did the hold up work, allowing Perez to chest down and crash a shot against the bar.
But Liverpool would not be cowed for long and they were back in front again on 28 minutes with an absolute peach of a goal.
Sturridge looked as if he had been backed in by the corner flag but he produced a back-heel for Alexander-Arnold whose first-time cross was met with a subtle velvety volley from Salah, who’d peeled away from Javier Manquillo to beat a flailing Dubravka.
This has been a feature of Liverpool’s challenge, the ability to shrug off setbacks with barely a break in their stride.
Dubravka saved Newcastle’s bacon with a point-blank save from Mane and the atmosphere was turning fractious around the old cathedral.
The natives were fuming that several Liverpool fans seemed to have made themselves known among the home support and Salah’s frequent visits to the turf were getting right up Geordie noses.
After the break there was little let-up in the end-to-end action.
Rondon turned, shot and was thwarted by Allison. Sturridge blazed over when he really should have scored and then came Newcastle’s second equaliser.
Ki Sung-yeung’s corner was met an attempted clearance from Gini Wijnaldum but Manquillo turned back into Rondon who thundered a low drive into the bottom corner.
Worse was to follow for Liverpool when Salah was carried off on a stretcher following a heavy aerial collision with Dubravka.
But then came Origi, who'd won a Merseyside derby with a late goal earlier this season, to head his dramatic equaliser.
Even the bit-part players are heroes. Liverpool simply refuse to buckle.
