The gameplan appeared to be working.
After making five changes in Paris in midweek, Eddie Howe made another bold tactical call as he started the game without a recognised striker and left £124m signings Yoane Wissa and Nick Woltemade on the bench.
Howe wanted his side to be fluid and difficult to mark, so he tasked Anthony Gordon with leading the line.
The forward went on to fire his side in front after drilling the ball through the legs of the sliding Milos Kerkez and past Alisson.
The former Everton man defiantly pointed to his ear in celebration at a stunned Anfield.
Newcastle had the game exactly where they wanted it.
As much as Newcastle were undone by Hugo Ekitike's brilliance, the visitors were taken apart far too easily for all of Liverpool’s four goals.
Florian Wirtz should not have been able to wriggle free of so many defenders for the first.
Kieran Trippier was way out of position in the build-up to the second.
Wirtz, of all people, was unmarked for the third and Nick Pope dropped a corner for Ibrahima Konate's fourth.
Newcastle have dropped 16 points from winning positions this season. Their long wait for a landmark result at Anfield goes on.
