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Mario Balotelli is still searching for his first Premier League goal for Liverpool and caused a minor controversy after emerging very late for the second-half kick-off but manager Brendan Rodgers said: "It has no bearing at all on the result."
The Reds have claimed just 14 points from their opening 10 games after finishing second in the league last year and Rodgers admits he can understand why supporters may be becoming frustrated.
"The progress this season is; we're going to be a slow process because there was so many changes," he said.
"We haven't started how we would like but we will improve.
"I think we showed that in the period when I first came here after six months.
"Understandably for the supporters it will be a difficult period for them but we can only continue to work hard and we'll analyse today's game - it was fairly straightforward.
Show all 23 1 /23Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Tim Krul Hardly touched the ball in the first half but made some impressive stops after the break – most notably from Coutinho’s headed effort. 7/10
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Daryl Janmaat Strong performance from the right back – let his aggression spill over on one occasion as unleashed a crunching tackle on Balotelli which he could have been sent off for. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Fabricio Coloccini Led his side superbly and kept Balotelli very quiet for the most part – Newcastle have done very well to hang on to him as long as they have. 7
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Steven Taylor A solid showing from Taylor who appears to be striking up a strong partnership with Coloccini - got himself needlessly booked for unsportsmanlike conduct in the first half. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Paul Dummett Looked the most vulnerable of Newcastle’s defence but was faced with Raheem Sterling for large parts of the game – didn’t let anybody down. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Gabriel Obertan Looked set to continue his fine recent form with some positive running early on but was forced off midway through the first half with what looked like quite a serious muscle strain. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Moussa Sissoko An influential performance from perhaps Newcastle’s most talented player – the Frenchman caused huge problems for Liverpool driving at the heart of their defence throughout – despite his impressive play he was lucky to stay on the field after a first half dive and very nasty challenge on Dejan Lovren. 7
Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Mehdi Abeid Quietly effective in the heart of the Newcastle midfield – helped keep Henderson and Coutinho quiet. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Jack Colback Typically industrious performance from the former Sunderland man, got the better off his more illustrious English counterparts in the Liverpool midfield. 7
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Sammy Ameobi Unable to repeat his heroics of last weekend but produced a committed display providing a threat going forward and working hard to get back and help his side defensively. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Papiss Cisse Lively throughout the first half – unable to convert from a few half chances – his best effort was headed off the line by Glen Johnson. Withdrawn at the break having come into the game as an injury doubt. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings From the bench: Ayoze Perez The match-winner – came off the bench and produced the goods with a poacher’s finish after sloppy defending from Moreno. 7
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Simon Mignolet Continues to look more and more vulnerable with every passing game, flapping at corners and looking generally unsettled – did make a couple of good second-half saves but must be making his defence feel uneasy. 5
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Glen Johnson Another disappointing display from an increasingly disappointing player – easily beaten too many times when defending and offered little going forward. 5
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Martin Skrtel Looked less assured than his central defensive partner and could struggle to keep his starting place judging by this display. 5
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Dejan Lovren Under pressure for much of the game due to his side’s poor performance, Lovren didn’t let his side down and was powerless to prevent the winning goal. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Alberto Moreno Defended reasonably well for the most part but produced a howler for the winning goal when he failed to clear – currently failing to justify his considerable transfer fee. 4
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Steven Gerrard Tried hard to rally his Red troops but no longer has the physical capacity to take the game by the scruff of the neck as he so often used to. 5
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Jordan Henderson Liverpool’s most consistent performer so far this season was also unable to assert his usual influence upon the game – a quiet showing. 5
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Joe Allen His main role in the Liverpool side is to enable them to control the game through keeping the ball, he gave it away far too often and failed to make an impact on the game. 5
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Philippe Coutinho Probably Liverpool’s brightest spark on the day – looked like he might make something happen and came closest to scoring for his side with a header which Krul did well to keep out. 6
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Raheem Sterling Maybe he’s tired again? Without his England teammate Daniel Sturridge around, Sterling is attracting a lot of attention from opposition defences and today he had no answer. 5
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Newcastle 1 Liverpool 0 - player ratings Mario Balotelli Far from Liverpool’s worst performer on the day, not that that means he played well. Had a couple of long range efforts in the second half but overall it was another disappointing display. 5
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"We didn't create enough. We had enough of the ball, we had enough of the possession, found it in good areas, we just didn't create enough in the final third and then we gave away a very bad goal to lose the game 1-0.
"We'll just continue to work and work as well as we have done over the past couple of years and we're confident we'll get the results."
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