Newcastle United should have been awarded a penalty against Liverpool long BEFORE they had claims for a second-half spot-kick turned down last night.

Magpies fans were furious when referee Andy Madley decided not to point to the spot when Jarell Quansah appeared to trip Alexander Isak in the second half of last night's thrilling 3-3 draw at St James' Park. Despite VAR looking at the incident, the on-field decision stood as the two sides shared the spoils in a hugely entertaining encounter.

However, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane and Arsenal goalscoring legend Ian Wright felt Eddie Howe's side should have been given the chance to go 2-0 ahead from the penalty spot in the first half. Newcastle forward Anthony Gordon was clearly caught in the face by Virgil van Dijk's shoulder long after he had been denied by Reds keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

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England forward Gordon had seized on an error by Joe Gomez to bear down on goal, only for Kelleher to block his effort, shortly after Isak had given the Magpies the lead. As Gordon turned to run back, Van Dijk collided with the United man, sending him sprawling, with replays suggesing the action was deliberate.

Keane and Wright were in doubt, and speaking on the Stick to Football Watchalong, Wright said: "He knows exactly what he’s doing. That’s a penalty." Keane had little doubt either, adding: "That’s a penalty."

VAR checked the incident but no further action was taken, with Liverpool coming back to earn a point. Dutch defender Van Dijk was sent off in the correspending fixture last season for a foul on Isak, although on that occasion Liverpool came back from a goal down to earn a 2-1 win.