The best was saved for last in the second matchday of the 2025/26 Premier League season, with Liverpool taking on Newcastle at St. James’ Park on Monday.
In a battle between two Champions League sides, it was Newcastle who looked the stronger side for the opening half-hour, but they weren’t able to make it count before Ryan Gravenberch let loose from distance, taking a touch off an opponent and zooming into the bottom corner of the net after 35 minutes.
Things went from bad to worse for the Magpies as Anthony Gordon went in with a reckless challenge on Virgil van Dijk and saw red before the interval, with Hugo Ekitiké doubling their lead within 22 seconds of the restart. It seemed that the defending champions were headed for a comfortable win against Newcastle, who finished fifth last season under Eddie Howe.
Not so fast: Bruno Guimarães headed home after 57 minutes, whilst William Osula completed the comeback in the 88th minute to the delight of a raucous home support, whose elation grew tenfold after the referee announced 11 minutes of added time.
Desperate for a solution, Liverpool manager Arne Slot brought on Harvey Elliott and Rio Ngumoha for Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo in the 96th minute. His intuition would come in handy in the 100th minute as a quick passing combination led to Federico Chiesa finding Mohamed Salah on the edge of the box, with the Egyptian firing in a low cross towards the box.
Dominik Szoboszlai wisely dummied it for an unmarked Ngumoha, who made no mistake with a brilliant finish into the right corner to secure a 3-1 win. It was yet another high-scoring victory for Liverpool, who began their Premier League season last week with a 4-2 victory against Bournemouth.
Going into the match, all of the headlines were on a player who was not planning on suiting up for either Liverpool or Newcastle: Alexander Isak.
Having emerged as one of the finest strikers in Europe since joining Newcastle for a club-record fee, Isak has attracted the interest of Liverpool, who had an opening bid of £110m rejected. Isak has done everything in his power to become a contract rebel and push for a move to Anfield, but so far, Newcastle have dug their heels in and guarded their top asset against Liverpool’s might.
It remains to be seen what happens to Isak, but one thing’s for sure: the game’s main highlight belonged to Ngumhoa. Born in Newham, England to Nigerian parents, he spent eight years at Chelsea’s academy before moving to Liverpool in 2024.
His professional debut came on January 11, with the 16-year-old becoming the youngest player in club history to start a match and playing 71 minutes in a 4-0 win vs. Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup.
He would have to wait more than seven months for his second appearance, where, once again, he took his opportunity with both hands and became the youngest scorer in Liverpool history. Ngumhoa will be looking to parlay that momentum into a third Liverpool appearance on Sunday as Liverpool get set to face last season’s runners-up – Arsenal – in a pivotal title showdown.
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