Darwin Nunez bagged a brace as 10-man Liverpool produced a stunning comeback to defeat Newcastle United at St James Park.
Since Newcastle cruised to a 2-0 victory over Liverpool in 2015, it has been a tale of misfortunes for the Magpies against the Reds.
They have never won a competitive match against Liverpool, losing 9 and drawing four.
Nevertheless, Eddie Howe headed into the game shoulders-high after Newcastle United dislodged Liverpool from top four last season and clinched the last Champions League spot in the Premier League for the first time in 20 years.
As expected, with their characteristic attacking instinct, the game was flung open from both sides right from start.
The two teams took on each other with an attacking blitz that strained both defence as they grapple to block attempts, foiled attacks, and wield possession.
Newcastle made good their efforts mounting an early pressure while Liverpool continued breaking on fast-paced counters trying to unsettle the Newcastle United defense.
After a marathon of pressure from both sides, the home side landed the first punch in the 25th minute. A costly defensive blunder by Alexander-Arnold saw Joelington latch on the ball and broke into the Liverpool box with a horse-speed pace before sliding the ball pass Allison Becker to give Newcastle United the lead.
Liverpool plunge forward, commiting more players to the Newcastle United half as they attempted to mount an immediate response but were dealt a heavy blow in the 28th minute. The Reds’ captain and renowned center-back Virgil van Dijk saw a straight read card after he brought down Alexander Isak with a rash challenge.
With the Reds down to 10 men, Newcastle United wielded more control of proceedings but were occasionally unsettled by a resilient Liverpool, who were equally contesting heavily for the ball.
The Magpies were still in control of proceedings but could not find the back of the net again before heading into the first half break as Liverpool made well their attempt to keep the scoreline respectable while hoping for an equaliser.
Jurgen Klopp made a series of early substitutions in the second half that turned the game around for Liverpool despite playing with a one-man disadvantage.
Endo came off for Elliot while Gakpo was brought off for Jota. The visitors were on the ascendancy and were wielding possession and making frantic attempts to find an equaliser.
With few minutes left on the clock, the Jurgen Klopp-led side shrugged off their numerical disadvantage to land the equaliser.
Darwin Nunez capitalised on Botman’s error to hit the leveler for the Reds. After the leveler, the Magpies ramped up the pressure again to return to the lead but could not upset a sturdy Liverpool backline even without van Dijk.
In stoppage-time, Liverpool landed on the dreamland against the run of play. The Reds stole a win at the death as Darwin Nunez fired Salah’s assist pass Pope to give Liverpool the winner.
The match ended with the Reds grabbing a huge victory over the hard-fighting Newcastle United at St James Park despite playing with a man down.
