NEWCASTLE, England — There’s maybe some irony in the truth that, on a night when Alexander Isak’s conspicuous absence dominated the prematch buildup, it was a 16-year-old debutant who stole the headlines.
Earlier than Monday night time, few folks outdoors of Merseyside can have heard of Liverpool starlet Rio Ngumoha. Now, after his match-winning objective within the Reds’ dramatic 3-2 victory over Newcastle United, his title has been marked out as one to recollect.
Having joined Liverpool’s academy from Chelsea in the summertime of 2024, Ngumoha’s current emergence has been so spectacular the view in some quarters is that he’s Liverpool’s most promising younger expertise since Raheem Sterling, who joined the membership from Queens Park Rangers in 2010 and has since gone on to take pleasure in a stellar profession on each the home and worldwide stage.
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It’s for that cause that head coach Arne Slot determined to advertise him to the primary workforce squad this season, and why he was handed his Premier League debut in opposition to the Magpies, simply 4 days shy of his seventeenth birthday. There can, nonetheless, be no escaping the truth that Slot’s want to show to {the teenager} along with his facet in want of a objective might not have been needed had he had extra attacking firepower at his disposal.
It has been a summer time of change at Anfield, with greater than £300 million spent to bolster a squad that final season gained the league title at a canter. Nonetheless, while you issue within the departures of Luis Díaz and Darwin Núñez — to Bayern Munich and Al Hilal, respectively — coupled with the tragic passing of beloved striker Diogo Jota, it’s clear Liverpool are nonetheless in want of reinforcements up entrance.
Step ahead, Isak, who has in current weeks discovered himself on the middle of the summer time’s most protracted switch saga. It has been identified for days that the Sweden worldwide — the topic of a rejected £110m bid from Liverpool earlier this month — would play no half on this sport as he continues to agitate for a transfer away from Tyneside.
And but, his presence was inescapable within the North East as tensions between the 2 sides simmered and even, every now and then, boiled over in a sport that lived as much as its billing as this weekend’s marquee fixture. Even earlier than the Liverpool gamers had set foot contained in the stadium, they had been jeered by Newcastle supporters eager to make sure the champions weren’t greeted with a royal reception.
Slot merely smiled as he soaked up the boos and whistles, and maybe the Dutchman was totally conscious of the truth that his workforce have been broadly forged because the villains on this switch cleaning soap opera. At St James’ Park, the notion is that Liverpool’s curiosity in Isak has destabilized a participant who was, till just a few weeks in the past, revered as a hero for his efforts in a black and white shirt.
Isak’s sensational assertion final week — during which he claimed guarantees had been “damaged” by the Newcastle hierarchy and insisted change was within the pursuits of all events — solely served so as to add additional gasoline to the fireplace. Regardless of Newcastle’s subsequent assertion that the circumstances for a possible Isak switch are unlikely to be met earlier than subsequent week’s deadline, it appeared on Monday night time like there was way more at stake than simply the three factors.
The house crowd succeeded in turning St James’ Park right into a febrile bear pit, cheering each sort out made and throw in gained with the identical fervency normally reserved for a objective. Earlier than kickoff, a flag within the Gallowgate Finish proclaimed: “Nothing is achieved alone”, a thinly veiled jibe on the wantaway Isak that served as a mission assertion for Newcastle’s unified first-half show.
Nonetheless, issues began to unravel for the hosts 10 minutes out from halftime when Ryan Gravenberch fired Liverpool in entrance in opposition to the run of play, curling house from the sting of the penalty space. Newcastle’s predicament shortly went from unhealthy to worse when Anthony Gordon — Newcastle’s auxiliary middle ahead in Isak’s absence — inexplicably lunged in on Virgil van Dijk and, after a VAR evaluation, was handed a pink card for his troubles.
Liverpool additional compounded Newcastle’s distress only a minute into the second half when Hugo Ekitike — a participant the Tyneside membership tried to signal on three separate events earlier than he moved to Anfield this summer time — doubled their lead and have become the primary Reds participant since Daniel Sturridge in January 2013 to attain in every of his first three video games for the membership.
However, underneath Eddie Howe, Newcastle’s depth and combating spirit has been their calling card, and the hosts rallied impressively, halving the deficit by means of a Bruno Guimarães header within the 58th minute earlier than substitute William Osula appeared to have snatched his workforce a degree along with his prodded end two minutes from time.
It was at this level that Slot rolled the cube by introducing Ngumoha, a big gamble that was rewarded when {the teenager} struck to develop into the fourth-youngest goalscorer in Premier League historical past.
“It’s after all particular for him to attain a objective in a second like this,” Slot stated after the sport.
“We all know the way it feels. Final season we conceded after 89 minutes right here and now we had been the fortunate ones. That’s what we had been, fortunate to get a winner over the road.”
After the Liverpool supporters had paid tribute to Ngumoha and his teammates after the ultimate whistle, they then cheekily started to clamour for Isak, chanting: “Hand him over, Newcastle.”
In fact, if Liverpool are to land the middle ahead’s signature this summer time, it is not going to be fairly that easy. However, whereas the mud settles on an exhilarating Premier League encounter, it seems the drama off the pitch might proceed till deadline day.
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