Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren was delighted with victory over Newcastle United last night.

The Reds leapfrog Southampton into fifth in the table and they closed the gap between fourth-place Manchester City to four points opening up the possibility of a Champions League spot next season.

"We knew that we'd have a difficult game and we knew that we needed to win if still want to be in the top four," Lovren told Liverpoolfc.com.

"We had a little bit of pressure because we are also waiting for the FA Cup semi-final, so it was a good win for our confidence.

"We just need to continue like this and I think we'll be fine for the semi-final."