NEWCASTLE, UK (AP) — Rio ngumoha, the 16-year-old alternative, has won the sensational final gasp winner as Liverpool overcomes 10 Newcastle 3-2 in Monday’s Premier League match.
Newcastle played the second half with 10 guys after Anthony Gordon was sent off just before halftime. Liverpool, 1-0, moved 2-0 seconds ago to a new half that looked like a game on the depleted side of Eddie Howe.
However, a 57th minute header from Bruno Guimares gave it a lifeline, with a crowd of 52,200 people erupting on the 88th at the park at St. James, and a long punt with substitute William Osla thrust the ball past Allison, leveling the score.
Later injuries to Newcastle’s Sandro Tonari and Fabian Schard added extra time of at least 11 minutes, making it seem likely that they could grab the most unlikely winner as Newcastle continued to slap Liverpool’s tattered rear guard.
However, the late replacement of Arne Slot has shifted balance again. Ngumoha was given a Premier League debut six minutes later, and four minutes later the unmarked winger swept the winner with Aplomb.
The goal came four days before his 17th birthday and became the fourth youngest scorer in Premier League history behind James Vaughan, James Milner and Wayne Rooney.
“This is what makes the Premier League special,” Slot said. “All fans around the world would have enjoyed watching this football game because the fans were amazing. I wonder if it was a soccer game today.
The action on the field veiled the behind-the-scenes drama that dominated accumulation in what became one of the league’s most anticipated matchups.
Most of the pre-match discussions surrounded the fate of Newcastle’s unfortunate striker, Alexander Isaac. The Swedish forward has been prolific for Newcastle over the past two seasons, but he is hoping to move and has not played since the Saudi-owned club rejected Liverpool’s £110 million bid this month.
There have been many stories about how Newcastle fans will stand up to the controversy, and before kickoff they unveiled the flag with a message bearing the flag and a flag-bearing message.
Gordon was fiery in the thrilling first half, trying to step into a major impressive role.
Against the run of play, Lian Grain Burch won his first Liverpool game in the league in 16 months. Gordon then made it worse for Newcastle by cutting down Virgil van Dik from behind, his second red card in the league.
Hugo Ekicchique, who wanted Newcastle to sign in during the offseason, homed his second Liverpool goal in two games, shortly after halftime and Newcastle fell into damage limit mode.
Guimares has started a comeback, but Ngumoha receives praise after an unforgettable game.
“It’s a dream debut. I’m very pleased with Rio,” Van Dik said. “He has to keep working hard, but he continues to be humble, but he has to enjoy this. You can’t take these nights for granted. With the players on the team, I’m sure he’ll return to the hard training session tomorrow.”
As a result, Liverpool, along with Arsenal and Tottenham, became one of three teams to win their first two games.
Howe’s side has one point from the first two games.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
