Newcastle United star was the one positive from Liverpool defeat as he passes ‘ultimate test’

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Newcastle United endured another miserable night against Liverpool at Anfield.

The wait for victory goes on, as Newcastle United lost 2-0 to Liverpool.

Goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister gave the Reds all three points, as Eddie Howe was left frustrated.

Newcastle United were alright in parts on Wednesday night. However, they never really looked like scoring, while they did not defend their box well enough in key moments.

There was not much for Toon fans to celebrate, but there was one positive coming out of the defeat on Merseyside.

Lewis Hall was Newcastle United’s big positive against Liverpool

Mo Salah is the best player in the Premier League right now, and Lewis Hall had the unenviable task of facing him.

Ahead of the game, Eddie Howe said taking on Mo Salah is the ‘ultimate test’ for a left-back at the moment, and it is a test that Lewis Hall passed.

The 20-year-old was Newcastle United’s best player against Liverpool, doing a brilliant job to try and keep Salah as quiet as possible.

Of course, there is only so much that one man can do against a player of Salah’s quality. He was still able to influence proceedings, providing the assist for Alexis Mac Allister’s goal.

But Hall did very well to nullify Salah’s impact, and can be very proud of his performance. It highlights how far he has come in the past 12 months.

Hall should get more protection in the Carabao Cup final

While he will have been disappointed to let Salah get an assist, Hall can be happy with how he handled the Egyptian forward.

That is two games in a row in which Hall has held his own against Salah, and he will need to do it all over again at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final. That is the grandest stage, and there will be even more pressure on the left-back to perform.

However, he should get more help in the cup final against Liverpool on March 16th.

Joelinton will be back from injury, and will likely play as the left-sided central midfielder. He will be able to come across and cover, and his physicality will be vital as Newcastle aim to end their trophy drought.

For that to happen, they will need to limit Salah’s impact. Hall has proven he can do that better than most Premier League left-backs, but even his outstanding efforts have not been enough to stop him scoring or assisting.