5 things we learned as Liverpool defeated Newcastle

Unexpected genius of Oxlade-Chamberlain

All the talk tends to rightly go towards the fearsome terror trio of Bobby Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane, but it seems that a new partnership is developing between the Ox and Salah - Oxlade-Chamberlain has assisted the Egyptian for the fourth time this season.

Escaped from a sinking ship?

Clearly thriving in his preferred central position, he once again produced the goods with a superb display leading to a much deserved Man of the Match award. The secret apparently has been Klopp - surprise, surprise! - who told Oxlade to calm down and assured him that he will get time to prove himself and to play "with instinct".

Klopp said at the post-game press conference, "‘It was outstanding and I don’t think it would have been possible for him a few weeks ago but now it is and I really like it. At the moment we are good but we need to stay good to ensure we finish in the top four and more."

With so many players competing hard to nail down a spot in the starting XI, it's no wonder that this Liverpool team is on a clearly upward performance spiral and slowly becoming the team to beat.