Alonso out to repeat trick

Xabi Alonso revelled in the spotlight after scoring from inside in his own half.

Eleven minutes from time the Spaniard spotted Steve Harper off his line and launched an outrageous effort from 60 yards, which flew into the net as the Magpies keeper slipped in his haste to back up.

"At the beginning I was looking for the pass but the ref was in the way of me getting it to Stevie (Gerrard) properly so I looked up and saw the keeper off his line and so I thought I'd have a go for it," he told Sky Sports.

Alonso scored a similar goal in Liverpool's thrilling FA Cup clash against Luton in January, when he placed a shot from inside his own half into an open goal after The Hatters goalkeeper had come up for a late corner.

To score twice from such long range gives the 24-year-old enormous pleasure, and he believes that his latest strike trumps the Luton goal.

"I think that it was better because the Luton goal bounced a few times and this went straight," he explained.

"It was different but I was very happy to score this goal.

"It was vital that he slipped and without that maybe he would have saved the ball.

"I practice all the time in training and sometimes the coaches shout at me for losing a lot of balls but it's something I like doing and I'll always try to keep on doing it.

"I've not professionally scored one like this in Spain and I'm delighted to have done it twice in England."

Alonso also insisted that it was crucial for Liverpool to get their season back on track following a stuttering start in The Premiership.

"We wanted a solid performance and to score some goals which is what we did, so it was important we got a good performance," he remarked.

"It will give us a lot of confidence for the next games to come."