Rio Ngumoha came off the bench to snatch a 3-2 victory deep into stoppage time as Premier League champions Liverpool edged past 10-man Newcastle on an astonishing night at St James' Park.
Fellow substitute Will Osula's first top-flight goal looked to have completed a famous comeback by the Magpies, who had Anthony Gordon sent off in first-half stoppage time and trailed 2-0 seconds after the break.
However, Ngumoha's intervention in the 10th minute of stoppage time denied them a priceless point.
The Reds were already leading through Ryan Gravenberch’s 35th-minute strike against the run of play after surviving an early onslaught when Gordon was dismissed for a late challenge on Virgil van Dijk, and Hugo Ekitike’s strike seconds after half-time looked to have killed the game off.
As the travelling fans sang "hand him over, Newcastle" – a reference to their club’s pursuit of Alexander Isak on a night when Magpies chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was in the stands – Bruno Guimaraes reduced the deficit with a 57th-minute header, and Osula’s late equaliser sparked a frenzied conclusion.
Gordon’s misdemeanour will cost head coach Eddie Howe, who lost Fabian Schar, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton to injury during a pulsating encounter, his services for three games, further depleting his pool of strikers and perhaps further dashing Isak’s hopes of a move during what remains of the transfer window.
In a frenetic start, the hosts exerted early pressure on a Reds defence featuring Dominik Szoboszlai as a makeshift right-back, although it was Nick Pope who had to make the game’s first save, diving to his left to keep out Florian Wirtz’s curled 14th-minute effort.
Alisson Becker was relieved to see Gordon’s header from Harvey Barnes’ 28th-minute cross just clear his crossbar, and Szobozslai did well to take the pace off the striker’s stabbed attempt from an Anthony Elanga delivery to allow his goalkeeper to mop up seconds later.
Ryan Gravenberch's deflected shot gave the visitors the lead in the 35th minute
But it was Liverpool, who had succeeded in taking some of the sting out of the game, who took a 35th-minute lead when Gravenberch’s speculative 25-yard strike, which took a slight deflection of Schar, caught an unsighted Pope flat-footed as it sped into the bottom corner.
Curtis Jones failed to make meaningful contact with Mohamed Salah’s first-time cross three minutes before the break, but his side’s cause was boosted significantly in first-half stoppage time when, after referee Simon Hooper – who was using ref cam – was asked to review of Gordon’s challenge on Van Dijk, he sent off the frontman for serious foul play.
The Magpies’ task grew in difficulty within 23 seconds when Ekitike – the man they tried to sign before Liverpool snapped him up – was allowed time and space to fire home off the foot of Pope’s right post.
Newcastle were simply unable to exert any pressure as a result of their numerical disadvantage, but they gave themselves hope when Guimaraes climbed above Milos Kerkez at the far post to head the excellent Tino Livramento’s cross down into the bottom corner and breathe new life into the contest.
The 11 men became increasingly jittery as Newcastle pushed for an equaliser, and they were undone with two minutes remaining when Osula ran on to Pope’s long free-kick and steered a first-time shot past the advancing Alisson, only for Ngumoha to claim victory at the death.
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