EDDIE HOWE was unhappy with some key refereeing decisions in Newcastle United’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Liverpool this evening.

Fabian Schar’s 87th-minute strike secured a point against the league leaders, with Newcastle twice having claimed the lead through Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon.

However, while Howe was delighted with the quality of his side’s attacking play and the spirited way in which they battled back after falling behind in the second half, he felt three important calls did not go his side’s way.

First, he was surprised that VAR did not instruct referee Andy Madley to look at the first-half incident that saw Virgil van Dijk angle his shoulder into Anthony Gordon’s face after the winger had fired a shot at Caoimhin Kelleher.

Then, in the second half, Howe felt Newcastle should have had a penalty when Jarell Quansah appeared to bring down Isak in the box.

And then, right at the end of the game, the Newcastle boss was frustrated at Madley’s decision to blow the final whistle just as looked as though the home side were launching a two-on-one break with Isak and Callum Wilson charging towards the Liverpool box.

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“I thought it was a penalty on Alex, but I haven’t seen a replay, that was just an initial thought,” said Howe, whose side delivered a much-improved display in the wake of Saturday’s attacking no-show at Selhurst Park.

“I was surprised by the final whistle because I think we’d spent around two minutes on a free-kick in extra-time, so I was expecting seven minutes to be played. I think it was 5.15 when he’s blown, so that was a blow because it looked like we were in a good position.

“Then, I think VAR looked at (the van Dijk on Gordon incident) and concluded nothing happened, so we have to accept it. I was surprised by it initially though.”

Howe was nevertheless pleased with his side’s performance against the runway league leaders, even if he was left slightly frustrated that they were unable to claim all three points after leading on two separate occasions.

“It’s mixed emotions,” he said. “Part of me feels we should have won it, a big part of me, but part of me is pleased we didn’t lose either because it was such a late goal for us.

“Generally, I’m just pleased with the performance. There was much more attacking output, a much better feel about the team. There was much better energy, and it was a really good performance against, for me, the best team we’ve played so far this season in the Premier League. So, it was a big jump forward for us.”