Rafa praises Alonso

Xabi Alonso saw Newcastle keeper Steve Harper off his line so lobbed the ball over his head- from fully sixty yards out. Alonso's goal earned him the praise of his manager but Benitez admitted he was about to criticise Alonso for ignoring a decent run by Steven Gerrard.

"It was funny because before Xabi decided to shoot for goal I was ready to shout at him because Gerrard had made a good run down the right side," said an impressed Benitez.

"Xabi has got great vision and it was a great goal. It didn't surprise me because he practices that in training a lot."