**_LONDON_**: Teenager Rio Ngumoha snatched a late, late winner for undeserving Liverpool as the Premier League champions won 3-2 away to a Newcastle team who played half the match with 10 men.
A duel which always promised to be feisty, beneath the cloud of the Alex Isak transfer saga, saw the hosts hit back from 2-0 down to level at 2-2 despite a red card for Anthony Gordon.
Eddie Howe’s men had mounted a frantic early surge on Liverpool’s goal but were hit by a sucker punch 10 minutes before the break when Ryan Gravenberch’s low shot beat Nick Pope, helped by a slight deflection off Fabian Schar.
The temperature boiled over in first half stoppage time when Gordon was shown a red card by referee Simon Hooper for a rash late challenge on Virgil van Dijk – the decision confirmed after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.
Liverpool stunned the hosts again by doubling their advantage within 30 seconds of the restart when Hugo Ekitike, the striker who snubbed the Magpies to move to Anfield instead, scored with a low, placed right-foot finish.
But, despite being a man down, Newcastle rallied and captain Bruno Guimaraes gave them hope with a diving header at the far post after 57 minutes.
With Liverpool losing their composure, substitute Will Osula got in ahead of Gravenberch to bundle the equaliser past Alisson after 88 minutes.
Liverpool looked to have thrown away a victory that looked certain at the start of the second half until substitute Ngumoha, at 16 years and 361 days, provided a sensational climax when left unmarked to fire home in the 10th of 11 added minutes.
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