Soccer

Nunez strikes twice as ten-man Liverpool stun Newcastle

Victory retains Liverpool two factors behind leaders Manchester City and lays down an early-season marker.

Darwin Nunez got here off the bench to attain twice within the last 10 minutes as 10-man Liverpool got here from a objective all the way down to stun Newcastle 2-1 at St. James’ Park on Sunday.

Anthony Gordon had pounced on a Trent Alexander-Arnold mistake to place the Magpies in entrance earlier than Virgil van Dijk was despatched off for bringing down Alexander Isak inside half an hour.

But Newcastle did not make the person benefit depend and had been punished when Nunez produced two moments of high quality uncommon to date in his Liverpool profession to show the sport on its head.

Liverpool spent a club-record £85 million on Nunez simply over a 12 months in the past, however the Uruguayan has discovered himself behind Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo within the battle to be Jurgen Klopp’s most popular quantity 9 early within the season

Nunez was unleashed from the bench 13 minutes from time and made probably the most of his alternative as he was twice launched behind the Newcastle defence and each occasions saved his nerve to fireside low and arduous past Nick Pope.

Victory retains Liverpool two factors behind leaders Manchester City and lays down an early-season marker after Newcastle usurped the Reds to safe Champions League soccer final season.

Liverpool had been fortunate to not be a person down after simply six minutes.

Alexander-Arnold had already been booked for throwing the ball away when he pulled down Gordon as the Newcastle man tore down the left wing.

But to the astonishment of the house crowd and Newcastle bench, referee John Brooks didn’t produce a second yellow card.

Joe Gomez was despatched out by Klopp to heat up with one eye on changing Alexander-Arnold to maintain him out of additional bother.

The Liverpool boss might need wished he had made that change as Alexander-Arnold’s failure to regulate Mohamed Salah’s cross allowed Gordon to run clear on objective and rating simply his second Newcastle objective since a £45 million transfer from Everton in January.

Things went from unhealthy to worse for the Reds when Brooks did produce a purple card, Van Dijk’s first of his Liverpool profession on 28 minutes.

The Liverpool captain was deemed to have denied a transparent goalscoring alternative when he kicked by Isak on the sting of the world.

Only some brilliance from Alisson Becker saved Liverpool within the recreation earlier than half-time as the Brazilian turned Miguel Almiron’s fiercely struck volley onto the crossbar.

Almiron got here even nearer after the break as some mesmeric wing play scythed by the Liverpool defence, just for his shot to come back again off the submit.

Newcastle had been made to pay for not including to their lead in an unimaginable finale.

Sven Botman did not take care of Jota’s ball ahead and Nunez drilled a shot into the far nook 9 minutes from time.

Salah had been saved largely quiet within the week he was linked with becoming a member of the celebrities leaving European soccer for Saudi Arabia.

But the Egyptian produced three minutes into stoppage time when his cross put Nunez within the clear as soon as extra to ship probably the most telling objective of his Liverpool profession thus far.


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