Newcastle 3–3. Liverpool: Caoimhin Kelleher's last-minute mistake causes Arne Slot's team to lose ground in the Premier League title chase.

Newcastle held the Premier League leaders to an exciting 3-3 draw at St. James' Park, with Liverpool being kept back by a late equaliser from Fabian Schar.

Following his late double, which saw the league leaders fight back from behind twice to lead Newcastle until the 90th minute, Mohamed Salah was once again looking like the hero for Liverpool.

But as Liverpool lost ground in the title battle, Caoimhin Kelleher's late mistake gave Schar the opportunity to take home some of the prizes for Eddie Howe's team.

Newcastle did dominate the first half against Liverpool, and they were rewarded when Alexander Isak, who had been doubtful for the match due to injury, fired a strong shot past Kelleher to give the home team a well-earned lead.

Regardless of what Arne Slot told his players, Liverpool looked flat and had work to do during the break.

Curtis Jones was selected by Salah's pass out of the blue, and he stroked the ball past Nick Pope to equalise.

Liverpool ought to have taken the lead a few seconds later. Darwin Nunez was unable to put the visitors ahead with a touch after Cody Gakpo's header missed the far post.

Midway through the second half, Liverpool fell behind once more, proving that the blunder was costly. Anthony Gordon, a former Everton player, squeezed the ball past Kelleher after Isak sent him into the penalty box.

Before Liverpool demonstrated their title credentials once more, Newcastle had the ball in the net once more, but Isak was offside. Once again, Salah came through to equalise the score by converting a cross from substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold.

It appeared for a long time that Liverpool would not win the match, but Salah came through with his 15th goal of the year, stroking the ball into the far corner to give his team the lead for the first time.

The 90th minute saw Gordon's free-kick flutter over Kelleher's head as he left it for what he believed to be a goal kick, giving Slot's team a huge three-point lead in the title battle. Schar, however, kept the title battle interesting by stealing in at the far post and producing an incredible finish.

Wednesday's victories by Chelsea and Arsenal reduced Liverpool's advantage from nine to seven points, while Man City's victory over Nottingham Forest put an end to their losing streak. Liverpool is now nine points ahead of Pep Guardiola's team.

Slot praises "special player" Salah | "We hope Salah can continue this for a long time"

After watching Salah lead the Premier League leaders to victory at Newcastle, Slot, the manager of Liverpool, praised the "special" player.

With his current contract expiring, the 32-year-old Egypt international's future at Anfield is still up for dispute.

"It's hard for me to predict the long-term future, but the only thing I can expect or predict is that he is in a very good place at the moment," Slot remarked when asked about Salah's future.

"He is able to perform exceptional things because he plays for a really good club that gives him fantastic opportunity.

He is even more special to me because, in the first hour or before we scored to make it 1-1, you might have thought, 'He's not playing his best game today.' Then, a half-hour or forty-five minutes later, he scored two goals, had an assist, had a shot on the bar, and was a constant threat. Few players can accomplish that after playing the first hour like he did.

He is unique because of that as well. His finish is really clinical if you only look at the goals. We are all aware that he is a unique player.

Howe: 'Newcastle's mental aspect became apparent'
Eddie Howe, manager of Newcastle, on Amazon Prime:

"How am I feeling? Yes, that was a lot better of us. We might have a problem given Liverpool's bench quality, and that's exactly what happened.

However, our mental toughness showed through, and we scored the equaliser. We looked vibrant and lively, scored three goals, and had opportunities to make it 2-0.

"I feel very proud. We matched them head-to-head; it was our greatest performance of the year. Our strategy was to be authentic, which is challenging when playing a team like Liverpool; it requires careful balancing.

"Alexander Isak was really good tonight, if we get our players firing we are some team."