Newcastle 0 Liverpool 2
Liverpool produced a supremely professional away performance to condemn Newcastle to their first home defeat of the season.
John Arne Riise's third-minute strike and a late second from Danny Murphy were enough to clinch all three points for the visitors, who weathered the storm for long periods but broke with impressive pace to keep the Magpies defence on their toes all afternoon.
United battered away at the Reds but found Sami Hyypia and his cohorts in miserly mood - and, with Gary McAllister in imperious form in the heart of midfield, the Reds always looked the more likely winners.
Robbie Fowler was sharp in his final club game before England's vital World Cup clash with Greece next weekend, producing a beautiful finish just after the break which was ruled out for offside.
Fowler returned to the starting line-up as Gerard Houllier made four changes to the side which tasted Champions League success against Dynamo Kiev in midweek.
The suspended Steven Gerrard was replaced by McAllister, while Murphy and Igor Biscan came in for former Magpie Dietmar Hamann and Nick Barmby.
Newcastle were unchanged after Wednesday night's 1-0 win over Leicester - although there was a return to the bench for Gary Speed, who had been out of action since August 26 with a torn hamstring.
The two sides have produced a series of classic games over the years, and while this one did not particularly reach those standards there was plenty of incident.
The Merseysiders arrived determined not to allow Laurent Robert in particular to thrive on the left as Jamie Carragher and Murphy were detailed to curtail his influence. They largely achieved that before Carragher picked up a booking which limited his ability to close down the Frenchman's space.
But the early battle was played out in central midfield, where the ageless McAllister and Biscan initially got the better of Rob Lee and Clarence Acuna.
Liverpool played on the counter-attack and created the clearer chances of the first 45 minutes, Riise pouncing on Lee's early mistake to give his side a 1-0 lead with an unstoppable shot and then providing the pass from which Fowler was denied a second by Shay Given's bravery.
Liverpool were hugely dangerous on the counter-attack. But it was United who dominated in terms of possession, with Alan Shearer combative and Craig Bellamy threatening to leave the Reds' rearguard in his wake with a series of lightning chases.
Shearer and defender Andy O'Brien both found space to get in headers but could not hit the target, and Acuna only just failed to get his toe to Robert's 42nd-minute cross.
But the fact that the only real save Jerzy Dudek had to make was from Bellamy's 17th-minute header told its own story.
United re-emerged determined to redress the balance but they almost conceded within five minutes of the restart.
Fowler saw a well-taken strike ruled out for offside, and then Heskey and Murphy both threatened as the home defence creaked alarmingly.
Heskey then only just failed to connect with a Fowler cross on the hour, but at the other end Robbie Elliott thumped a header into Dudek's arms from a Robert corner.
Bellamy surged into the box on 72 minutes. But his cut-back dropped between Shearer and Speed, prompting Bobby Robson to replace Solano with striker Shola Ameobi.
The England Under-21 international exploded down the right on 78 minutes and played the ball in for Bellamy, whose cross was hacked away by Hyypia as Shearer homed in.
But the points were safe four minutes from time when Murphy played a one-two with Fowler and then slotted the ball under the advancing Given to make it 2-0.
PA