Soccer-Newcastle defeat hard to take for Liverpool, says Clyne

Dec 7 (Reuters) - Slip-ups from several top clubs on Saturday in the Premier League made it even harder for Liverpool to digest their loss against Newcastle United, right back Nathaniel Clyne has said. The Reds lost 2-0 on Sunday after an inspired performance from Newcastle United, who are fighting for survival in England's top-flight, and it was their first away defeat in the Premier League under manager Juergen Klopp. With Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea all failing to win on Saturday, Clyne said Sunday's defeat was particularly hard to take. "It made this loss an even bigger loss for us, knowing what happened on Saturday with the other teams not getting the points they wanted," Clyne told the club's website (www.liverpoolfc.com). "But this is football. There are still a lot of games to be played and still a lot of points and we'll keep pushing. It's important that we bounce back quickly. "The December period, there are a lot of games coming up, so we've all got to be fit and raring to go and keep the confidence going into those games to try and get as many as we can." Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot kept his third clean sheet in five league games on Sunday and credited the defence, marshalled brilliantly by captain Fabricio Coloccini, for rarely being tested. "If you had told me I would have so little to do against Liverpool, I wouldn't have believed you," Elliot told the club's website (www.nufc.co.uk). "It's a testament to just how good all of the lads were in front of me. I can't really pick anyone out, they were all magnificent and stuck to our game plan. "We stepped up, defended as a unit and pressed when we needed to. It wasn't the prettiest game but I think that suited us down to the ground." (Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)