Newcastle United's wait to get a result at Anfield goes on following a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool.

Domink Szoboszlai opened the scoring for Liverpool in the 10th minute after sweeping home from inside the box before Alexis Mac Allister doubled the league leaders' advantage midway through the second half with a first-time effort.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

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Players' frustration shows

Ten minutes. That's all it took for Liverpool to open the scoring - and it all came from a rare foray forward from Newcastle in the opening stages.

Liverpool won the ball back and Alexis Mac Allister was allowed to carry it outside his box into space as Newcastle players slowly back peddled. Mac Allister fizzed the ball into the feet of Diogo Jota on the halfway line and the Liverpool striker was able to spin away and feed Luis Diaz out on the left.

Diaz merely strolled into the box - belatedly attracting three black-and-white shirts - before pulling the ball back to the unmarked Dominik Szoboszlai. The former Newcastle target swept the ball through the legs of Dan Burn and Sandro Tonali and it trickled past Nick Pope. No wonder the Newcastle goalkeeper punched the turf in frustration and Burn threw his arms up in the air. It was far too easy.

Newcastle, to their credit, did not crumble after that early opener - the impressive Lewis Hall, in particular, dug in with a couple of crucial interventions - but the Magpies were again taken apart when Liverpool had just their second shot on target midway through the second half. Jacob Murphy passed the ball straight to Alexis Mac Allister, who was allowed to advance into the box and pick out Mohamed Salah. The Liverpool star twisted and turned, as Dan Burn and Hall got tight to him, before knocking the ball into Mac Allister's path and the midfielder caught the ball first-time to double his side's lead.

Newcastle's frustration was again clear once more. Fabian Schar lashed out while Joe Willock jumped up and down on the spot on a night Liverpool did not need to hit top gear to defeat the Magpies.

Alexander Isak is missed

It takes a lot to unnerve Virgil van Dijk, but the Liverpool captain looked decidedly human when these sides played out a 3-3 thriller back in December. That's what the elusive Alexander Isak does to defenders.

Isak had scored in each of his previous two visits to Anfield and, regardless of how much possession Liverpool had, the Magpies were always going to have a chance with the in-form Sweden star up front. That's why you can be sure Liverpool were glad not to see Isak on the team sheet an hour before kick-off.

Isak felt something in his groin a day or two after the weekend win against Nottingham Forest. Although Isak travelled down to Merseyside, and even made his way off the bus to the dressing room with the rest of his team-mates, the striker was not ultimately risked with half an eye on the games to come.

Callum Wilson, as a result, made just his first league start of the season on the eve of his 33rd birthday and you could tell the veteran was still shaking off the ring rust. Although the linesman's flag spared Wilson's blushes, when he put a one-on-one wide earlier in the half, the former England international was onside when he latched on to Dan Burn's lofted ball after the half-hour mark. However, Wilson again failed to hit the target. On a night like this, when chances are at such a premium, it was a huge miss.

Blunt Newcastle fail to trouble Liverpool

Forget this being a dress rehearsal for next month's Carabao Cup final; this was a huge game in its own right. A timely test of this group's mentality and their ability to focus on the task at hand. The visitors simply could not afford to have Wembley at the back of their minds on Wednesday night.

Eddie Howe, after all, admitted Newcastle would have to play 'near close to a perfect game' to get a result. The prospect of a repeat of the hammering Newcastle suffered at the Etihad in their last away game? That was a non-starter, particularly given the lingering psychological effects it could have ahead of these sides meeting again in the capital in 18 days' time.

Newcastle's start, therefore, was going to be crucial against Liverpool but rather than be aggressive and hunt the league leaders down, the visitors got men behind the ball and attempted to counter at pace. The only problem was when Newcastle broke forward, the Magpies lacked a cutting edge: Jacob Murphy ballooned a cross over the bar from the right; Sandro Tonali hit a pass out of play; Anthony Gordon even took a foul throw-in deep in Liverpool's half.

Newcastle had 11 touches in Liverpool's box in the first half - only two fewer than Arne Slot's team - yet the blunt black-and-whites failed to test Alisson. It was a similar story in the second half with Gordon hitting a free-kick straight into the wall in the 46th minute and failing to find a team-mate when he drilled the ball across the box midway through the second half.

The visitors did not ultimately muster a shot on target. There was no repeat of the scenes a couple of seasons ago when Newcastle were booed off by Liverpool fans even in defeat after the Magpies unsettled the hosts.

Anfield nightmare goes on

The word fortress might just be an understatement. Liverpool have suffered just one defeat in all competitions at Anfield this season. Arne Slot's side have scored at least twice in each of their past 18 home games. That was the scale of the challenge facing Newcastle.

The relentless league leaders were not about to let up as captain Virgil van Dijk called on supporters and team-mates alike to make it 'horrible' for Newcastle. In truth, it has long been a horrible venue for Newcastle. You have to go back to 1994 for the Magpies' one and only Premier League win in the red half of Merseyside.

Wembley has to be different

Regardless of who is in goal at the moment, Newcastle United do not look capable of keeping a clean sheet in the league. In fact, you have to go back to January 15 for the Magpies' last shutout in the top-flight. Newcastle have since conceded 16 goals.

Martin Dubravka was dropped last week, but Newcastle have not exactly looked solid since Nick Pope has come back into the side. The goalkeeper is clearly getting back up to speed and was relieved to see the ball bobble out of play at one point in the first half after hitting a pass straight at Mohamed Salah.

Newcastle's spine needs strengthening. The Magpies should at least have Sven Botman, Joelinton and Alexander Isak back at Wembley next month and there will also be nearly 32,000 Geordies there to back Eddie Howe's side. However, if Newcastle are to end a 70-year wait to win a major domestic trophy, the black-and-whites are going to have to produce something very special against Liverpool under the arch. They certainly need to be an awful lot more aggressive than they were at Anfield.