Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has criticised his players for "making mistakes" and failing to cope with Liverpool's forward line in Saturday's 2-0 loss at Anfield.

The Magpies stood strong for 40 minutes on Merseyside before Mohamed Salah found the net for his 24th goal of the season, which was added to by Sadio Mane a little over 10 minutes into the second half.

A first defeat in five games, and just a second in nine, leaves Newcastle 16th in the table and two points above the dropzone.

Speaking after the loss against his former club, Benitez admitted that his side need to start getting points on the board if they are to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.

"We were playing against a dangerous team. We know they have the pace up front," he told BBC Sport. "We managed to 40 minutes then it was a mistake.

"We had to go for it in the second half and were then more open. You have to keep the balance to be stronger in the defence and create chances in attack.

"We had a few times at the end when we were under pressure. We have to manage our squad. We are learning but we are still making mistakes against teams. We are improving but this team has to get points."

Newcastle return to action next Saturday with a home match against fellow strugglers Southampton.