For the first time since he inherited Robert's frustrating qualities, Souness admitted that he could find nothing to criticise in the Frenchman's performance. If only the same could be said of other players from both sides.
Between them, they failed to trouble either goalkeeper until Robert's 70th-minute free-kick curved beyond the reach of Scott Carson, the 19-year-old goalkeeper who was making his first-team debut for Liverpool.
'We will talk about the quality of the goal and rightly so,' said Souness. 'But Laurent also had an excellent game and showed why I'm very happy with him at the moment.
'That is the first game when I can't criticise him for any part of his game. He contributed in every area and scored a very special goal.
'We have a love-hate relationship. He loves me and and I love him, but then we want to bash each other over the head. Long may it continue.'
Souness had more than one reason to be delighted with the outcome of Alan Shearer's 400th Premiership match. It extended Newcastle's winning run to five matches and brought the first victory of Souness's managerial career against Liverpool at the thirteenth attempt.
The previous 12 matches had brought four draws and eight losses, but he was not in the mood to gloat against the club where he won so many trophies as a player.
'I don't get extra pleasure out of beating Liverpool because I'm still a fan,' Souness said.
'They are part of my history. I had a great time there as a player, although it didn't work out as a manager. They are still a very special club for me.'
It is unfortunate that his overdue success came in a disappointing match that reflected the downturn in fortunes of both sides since their compelling meetings during the 1990s.
Even Steven Gerrard, desperate to bounce back from his Carling Cup final disappointment, failed to make an impact before he wasted their only clear-cut chance of the game in stoppage time.
Until then, Liverpool were devoid of energy and imagination and the 3-1 lead they take to Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday will not be enough to ensure progress in the Champions League if they reproduce this performance.
Souness maintained that Liverpool controlled the first 20 minutes before Newcastle 'upped the tempo' and took control. It is a generous assessment of a game when both teams were as limited as each other for lengthy periods.
Liverpool did create the first chance after just eight minutes when Gerrard was wide with his effort, but Newcastle were closest to a first-half goal when Carson's punch gave Lee Bowyer a shooting opportunity.
Bowyer failed to strike the ball cleanly, but Jean-Alain Boumsong's instinctive touch would have been decisive had the ball not struck Sami Hyypia on the head.
By then, Robert had suggested he would be the best hope of a goal. He was off-target twice in the opening 10 minutes of the second-half before Mauricio Pellegrino's foul gave the Frenchman the chance to score his fourth goal of the season - all from free-kicks.
At least the goal injected some passion into the match. Substitute Patrick Kluivert should have extended the lead when he dragged his shot wide in the 87th minute and Gerrard did the same in the dying seconds.
Rafael Benítez the Liverpool manager maintained his side had controlled the match, but admitted: 'I was disappointed with our performance. We didn't get the ball into their box enough times and they started pressing us back in the second half.
'I was unhappy about the goal. I don't blame our keeper, but we had talked about the threat from Robert at set pieces.'
Harry Kewell and Dietmar Hamman missed yesterday's game, but will be fit to face Leverkusen, while Newcastle travel to Olympiakos in the Uefa Cup.
Celestine Babayaro was missing from their side yesterday with a knee problem, but is expected to be ready to face the Greeks as Newcastle continue their pursuit of their first trophy in 36 years.
'It's a a big week for us, but they are always big weeks,' said Souness. 'Olympiakos is the only game that concerns us now. They will play a different type of football and it will be a difficult game.'