A 71st-minute header from Georginio Wijnaldum that was cleared off the line was Newcastle's only attempt on target in the entire game and Magpies boss Steve McClaren pulled no punches in his assessment.
"I think that's our worst performance of the season," he said.
"We talked about it a little bit yesterday - the last five or six games, the level of performance, we've seen progression.
"We're going to get setbacks along the way, still, before we get that consistency and today was a perfect example of that.
"Granted, I thought the opponents were excellent. It shows the example of a team that a year ago were near the bottom of the league and are now at the top of the league.
"That's how quickly it can change but it can only change by certain ways, things and performances. Consistency is one; at the moment we've not got that."