Suarez's goal saves Liverpool the blushes

Often criticized for his theatrics, Luis Suarez stood out for the right reasons Sunday with a brilliant equalizer for Liverpool in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle in the English Premier League.

Steven Gerrard made his 600th appearance for Liverpool but was overshadowed at Anfield by Suarez, who produced a wonderful display of skill to bring down a raking pass on his chest and move around the goalkeeper in one movement to earn his team a deserved point in the 67th minute.

"His first touch from that height was an incredible piece of skill — he is a world-class striker," said Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

Liverpool, however, missed a chance to climb into the top half of the standings for the first time this season, with the 18-time English champions again failing to win at home despite dominating for large periods.

Newcastle scored from one of its rare forays forward, with Yohan Cabaye volleying home superbly in the 43rd after good work by Hatem Ben Arfa, and was forced to hang on with 10 men after Fabricio Coloccini was red-carded with about 6 minutes remaining in regulation time.

"Suarez is a great player. He was causing us problems and if we could have wrapped him up, we would have won the game," Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said.

In Sunday's other game, Queens Park Rangers and Reading remain winless in the league after drawing 1-1 at Loftus Road, leaving both teams in the bottom three and destined for a season of struggle.

Former France striker Djibril Cisse rescued a point for the hosts by poking home a close-range finish in the 66th, canceling out an acrobatic opener scored by Kaspars Gorkss — a former QPR player.

The point provisionally lifts QPR off the bottom of the table above Southampton, which plays on Monday against West Bromwich Albion, but the result will increase the pressure on manager Mark Hughes.

"We're working exceptionally hard on a daily basis to turn this around and we'll get there, we know that," said Hughes, who continues to receive the backing of owner Tony Fernandes.