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A Difficult Win for Liverpool Over Newcastle United Thanks to a Young Striker

Liverpool, the defending champions, struggled to come away with a victory in the new Premier League season, this time against hosts Newcastle United, defeating them 3-2 in the closing fixture of Match week Two.

Liverpool needed a goal from a striker no older than 16 years, Rio Ngumoha, who scored the winner for the champions in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time.

Remarkably, last season’s champions squandered a two-goal lead at St. James’ Park, despite their numerical advantage after Newcastle striker Anthony Gordon was sent off in the second minute of first-half stoppage time. The Magpies equalized and put Liverpool under immense pressure until Ngumoha stepped onto the stage just four minutes after coming on as a substitute for Dutchman Cody Gakpo, who had provided the assists for the first two goals.

Liverpool had begun their title defense with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth, while Newcastle failed to secure victory for the second match in a row, having opened their new season with a goalless draw away to Aston Villa.

Match Highlights

Despite the heavy pressure created by Newcastle at the start of the game and the numerous chances they produced against Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Liverpool opened the scoring when Gakpo played the ball to his compatriot Ryan Gravenberch outside the box. Gravenberch found a small gap in front of him and unleashed a low driven shot into the near post that caught goalkeeper Nick Pope off guard (35’).

Newcastle received a major blow before the end of the first half when Anthony Gordon was sent off for a reckless challenge on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. The referee initially showed a yellow card before upgrading it to a red after a VAR review (45+2’).

The Reds made the most of their numerical superiority by doubling the lead at the start of the second half through new French signing Hugo Ekitiké. After Gakpo’s initial shot was blocked by the defense and came back to him, he slid it across to the French striker, who unleashed a powerful effort from the edge of the box that bounced off the post and into the net (46’).

Brazilian Bruno Guimarães brought Newcastle back into the game by heading home a cross from Valentino Livramento (57’). The Magpies then grabbed an equalizer after Irish substitute defender Conor Bradley fouled Guimarães behind the halfway line. Goalkeeper Pope launched a long ball that was flicked on by Dan Burn into the penalty area, where Danish substitute William Osula slotted it past the advancing Becker (88’).

Ngumoha then carved his name into a dream night just days before turning 17, scoring in the 10th minute of stoppage time. After Italian substitute Federico Chiesa passed the ball to Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, Salah squared it towards Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai, and the ball eventually fell to the young striker, who finished brilliantly into the net.

Liverpool extended their unbeaten run against Newcastle to 18 league games, with 13 wins and 5 draws. The Reds’ last defeat to Newcastle away dates back to December 2015, when the Magpies, then managed by Steve McClaren, secured a 2-0 victory.

Match week Two had kicked off last Friday with Chelsea’s 5-1 win over West Ham. Meanwhile, Manchester City lost 0-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal thrashed Leeds United 5-0 on Saturday, and Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw away to Fulham on Sunday in one of the top fixtures.

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