Martin Dubravka gives his verdict on Liverpool’s second penalty against Newcastle last night

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Newcastle were absolutely dominated by Liverpool last night, but the end result came down to some contentious decisions made by the referee.

The Reds were able to wrap up the three points with about 10 minutes left to play after Anthony Taylor and VAR made the controversial claim that Martin Dubravka made contact with Jota in the box.

In an interview with NUFCTV after the game, Dubravka was quite clearly frustrated with the decision to award the penalty and felt there was nothing he could have done to avoid that outcome.

Dubravka says Liverpool were lucky to get the decision

There’s no hiding away from the fact that Newcastle were second best last night and ultimately deserved to be comfortably beaten and they would have been if Liverpool were more clinical.

However, that still doesn’t excuse the refereeing decisions which would decide the game and leave Newcastle without anything to show for their determined efforts at Anfield.

Dubravka had actually had a brilliant game, perhaps his best for Newcastle since his debut against Manchester United which had earned him a place in the squad permanently five years ago now.

The Slovakian pulled off some incredible saves but was punished for actually pulling out of a challenge and making barely any contact with Jota who took two steps before deciding he’d been fouled, which frustrated the shot-stopper.

On the penalty, Dubravka said: “It is a frustration because he’s a clever guy. I tried to pull my arms [away] and not catch him. I felt contact but I’m not really sure what else I should do to not try and catch him, at the end it was a penalty. There is no point trying to argue with them. With the VAR I don’t know what to say.”

Newcastle’s poor form continues

It was always going to be a tough ask to get all three points at Anfield, a place where Newcastle have not won since 1996 and have not won in the league since 1994.

It now means that Eddie Howe’s side have lost seven of their last eight games, including key Champions League and Carabao Cup games, and now sit in a very difficult position.

The Magpies are sliding down the Premier League table with Wolves and Chelsea now just one point behind them and the team need to set things straight against Sunderland this weekend.

Should they lose the derby then Howe will have a massive problem on his hands as he could quickly lose all the support that he had built up from last season.