Arne Slot suggested Mohamed Salah and Liverpool could still find a way to extend their relationship beyond the end of this season after the Egyptian right-winger scored twice in the Premier League leaders’ 3-3 draw at Newcastle created another goal and hit the crossbar.

That took the league’s top goalscorer’s tally to nine in the last seven games, and after an absolutely brilliant, game-winning second-half performance, Liverpool’s coach was effusive in his praise for Salah.

“Every time we need Mo he scores a goal,” Slot said as he answered questions about the possible outcome of Salah’s complicated contract extension negotiations with the Anfield board. “We hope and assume that he can keep it up for a long time. He was outstanding in the second half, he did a lot of special things for us. Mo had a huge influence.

“It’s hard to predict the future but Mo is in an incredible position in a very good team that is giving him opportunities at the moment and he is capable of doing special things. He didn’t play his best game at first, but then he did things that not many players can do. He is a special player. His finish is so clinical. He leads by example and trains so hard that it’s no surprise he does so well.”

Not that the guest manager was really happy. “I have mixed feelings,” Slot said. “We were outstanding in the second half, but not so good in the first half. Maybe 3-3 was the result the game deserved. At the beginning we had problems with the intensity and the aggressive pressing style. They forced too many mistakes on us in the first half, but in the second half it was difficult for them to repeat the intensity of the first 45 minutes. Going to Newcastle is a difficult game, they have so much quality.”

Newcastle coach Eddie Howe seemed relieved by his team’s significantly improved performance. The recently injured Alexander Isak was inspiring at centre-forward, from where the Swedish striker scored a goal and set up another for Anthony Gordon before Fabian Schär scored the late equaliser. “Liverpool were the best team we played against this season,” he said. “But it’s mixed emotions, I’m disappointed we didn’t win. It was Alex (Isak)’s best performance this season. We need more of it.

“But tonight we were everything we wanted to be, body language, pressing, attitude. We were more like ourselves. I thought Anthony (Gordon) was electric. But we have to consistently adhere to these standards.”