Newcastle United's defensive woes continued with an inept performance as they lost out 3-0 to Liverpool in their Premiership match on Saturday.

Steven Gerrard put Liverpool in the lead with an angled shot in the 28th minute while Dirk Kuyt doubled the lead a minute into the second half before Ryan Babel added the third in the 66th minute as Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce was booed off the pitch.

Shay Given proved his worth for the Newcastle team with a string of saves and had to be alert right at the start to deny a stinging drive by Gerrard. The Magpies were struggling to adapt to the visitors' passing moves as Liverpool dominated the possession in the first half.

The Kops took the lead in the 28th minute when Gerrard was played in by Lucas from the free kick and the England international smashed home a stinging drive past Given to put Liverpool in the lead. Given had a lucky escape on stroke of half time when he blocked Fernando Torres' shot outside the penalty area with his arm but the striker smashed his shot against the post as referee Alan Wiley decided not to take any action against the Newcastle keeper.

However the reprieve was short lived as Liverpool doubled the lead in the 46th minute when Kuyt slotted home from close range after latching on to Sami Hyypia's flick to score his first of the night. It was all over in the 66th minute when Babel and Gerrard combined with a neat one-two before the Dutch winger fired in Liverpool's third goal of the night.