Jurgen Klopp separated Virgil van Dijk from fourth official Craig Pawson after a rare red card for the Liverpool captain.
With Liverpool having a clear goal against Newcastle within half an hour, things got even worse for the Dutchman.
Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in the 25th minute and three minutes later, the ex-Everton man delivered a perfectly camouflaged pass to Alexander Isak.
But just as the Swede was about to catch up, Van Dijk lunged at him just outside the box to receive his second red card in English football and the first for Liverpool.
The Dutch captain rarely received marching orders to the point of losing his temper when he entered the St. James’ Park, cursing at the fourth referee Pawson and Klopp had to calm him down.
Van Dijk became Liverpool captain in the summer, replacing Jordan Henderson, who had left Al Ettifaq.
Joining Southampton in 2018, Liverpool’s then-record signing became one of the club’s most important players.
However, he could now be sidelined for a long time after making his first appearance for the club.
The Red Devils are only the fourth time in his career the 32-year-old has received a goal against Southampton, Celtic and Groningen.
