Sixteen-year-old Rio Ngumoha unforgettably marked his Premier League debut, scoring a 100th-minute winner to hand Liverpool a dramatic 3-2 victory over 10-man Newcastle United at St James’ Park.
The teenager, thrown on deep into stoppage time, became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history as he curled a cool finish past Nick Pope with virtually the last kick of the game.
For much of the evening it looked like Liverpool had thrown away the points. Arne Slot’s side raced into a two-goal lead through Ryan Gravenberch’s long-range strike and a tidy Hugo Ekitike finish just after the restart, but Newcastle fought back despite Anthony Gordon’s red card before the interval.
Bruno Guimarães pulled one back with a well-placed header, and substitute William Osula stunned the away end in the 88th minute when he pounced on a defensive lapse to level the match at 2-2.
Softfootball reports that the atmosphere inside St James’ Park was already crackling after a week dominated by the ongoing Alexander Isak transfer saga, and Gordon’s dismissal only heightened the sense of injustice among the home support.
His reckless sliding challenge on Virgil van Dijk was initially waved on, only for VAR to send referee Simon Hooper to the monitor, with the inevitable red card following just before half-time.
Down a man, Eddie Howe’s players battled ferociously. Their energy and resilience nearly earned them a point, only for Ngumoha to provide the night’s defining moment.
When Dan Burn flicked on Pope’s hopeful clearance, Mohamed Salah picked up the loose ball and fizzed a cross into the teenager’s path. With remarkable composure for his age, Ngumoha took a touch and whipped the ball beyond Pope into the far corner, sparking wild celebrations among the travelling fans.
Liverpool posted a video of the 16-year-old history maker on their official X account, applauding the fans and savouring the really special moment.
Watch the video below:
Liverpool also posted scenes of the full-time celebrations and reactions of Arne Slot and his boys via its official X handle.
Watch the video below:
Newcastle played gallantly, and despite losing the game, they won the hearts of the fans and also the neutrals with a performance that will go down in history as one of the dramatic ones.
Newcastle posted a sense of pride in defeat on their official X handle, urging everyone to be optimistic about the future.
Newcastle Posted:
The result extends Newcastle’s barren run against Liverpool in league fixtures to 18 matches without a win, while Slot’s men continue their strong start to the season. But the night belonged to a 16-year-old academy graduate whose debut goal may go down as one of the most dramatic in Liverpool’s modern history.
