Jonjo Shelvey says he “might be a hero in Liverpool now” after doing his former club a favour by scoring a stunning late goal for Newcastle in their 2-2 draw with Manchester City.
The Magpies midfielder spent three years at Anfield between 2010 and 2013.
He took in 69 appearances for the Reds, but failed to fulfil the potential on Merseyside that saw him snapped up from Charlton as a teenager.
Shelvey has endured similar struggles for consistency at Newcastle, but was the toast of St James’ Park on Saturday as he crashed home a late leveller against City.
His super strike will also have been welcomed at Anfield, with the 27-year-old telling BT Sport of his efforts against the reigning Premier League champions: “We thought we deserved a point.
“They keep the ball so well but we deserved that. We needed to bounce back after Monday but showed we have character and a bit of spirit.
“I might be a hero in Liverpool now but in serious we need as many points as we can and we need to keep moving up the table.”
Liverpool remain nine points clear of City heading into their home date with Brighton