Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool: Darwin Nunez double sees Jurgen Klopp’s side mount stunning comeback win in Premier League

Darwin Nunez struck a late double to snatch an incredible 2-1 victory for 10-man Liverpool after Virgil van Dijk was sent off against Newcastle United at St James’ Park.

The Uruguayan striker came off the bench to rifle home a superb effort nine minutes from time to level matters, before lashing in Mo Salah’s pass deep into stoppage time to stun Eddie Howe’s men.

An incident-packed encounter exploded into life when former Everton forward Anthony Gordon punished an error from Trent Alexander-Arnold to race clear and open the scoring on 25 minutes.

It capped a dreadful opening for Alexander-Arnold who was lucky to escape a second yellow card inside six minutes when he followed up a caution – for throwing the ball away – by pulling back Gordon in full flight.

Liverpool’s day then soured further when Van Dijk was given his marching orders for a poorly timed challenge on Alexander Isak as the striker turned to surge in on goal.

Newcastle continued to look the more likely in the second half with Miguel Almiron going close when he clipped the post following a wonderful solo run.

However, substitute Nunez seized upon a mistake by Sven Botman to level before sensationally winning it with a last-gasp strike.

The result means Liverpool are unbeaten in fourth spot, two points adrift of leaders Manchester City. Newcastle are down in 13th after two defeats from three outings.

Next up, Newcastle visit Brighton on Saturday evening while Liverpool host Aston Villa next Sunday.

It began as a nightmare but ended in a fairytale-like dream. Liverpool could have been reduced to 10-men after six minutes and did indeed find themselves a man short and a goal down inside 28 minutes.

Jurgen Klopp managed to reorganise his side at the interval after his players looked like being swept up in the frenzied St James’ Park atmosphere, but even he wouldn’t have expected them to come back to win with 10 men for the second week on the run.

The Reds gave themselves hope with a solid second-half display and then it was over to Nunez, who came off the bench to produce a mind-blowingly good cameo with a winning double.

The former Benfica man had a mixed start to life at Anfield last term, but did have a sharp pre-season to perhaps foreshadow events. Surprisingly, he has been the odd man out in terms of starting so far in this campaign, with Klopp picking his other four attackers ahead of the Uruguay international.

That may change from now as a player who can be a real threat, but perhaps a tad profligate, showed he is capable of lethal finishing on the big occasion. It could be a case of deja vu too as he followed up a lukewarm maiden season with Benfica by storming the goal charts, so maybe this will be the catalyst for him to hit the heights expected in a Liverpool shirt too? We will see.

For Newcastle, it’s a bitter pill for Howe and his players to swallow but could well be the platform for Liverpool to kick on following the disappointment of the last campaign.

For 72 minutes this was all about Anthony Gordon but Nunez’s devastating 13-minute cameo can’t be ignored. The hit-man levelled within four minutes of taking to the pitch, picked up a yellow card and then snatched the winner deep into stoppage time to snare the points from right out of The Magpies’ clutches. It’s the sort of remarkable impact the term ‘super sub’ was coined for.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Pope 6, Trippier 7, Schar 7, Botman 7, Burn 7, Tonali 8, Guimaraes 8, Joelinton 8; Almiron 8, Isak 7, Gordon 8. Subs: Barnes 6, Wilson 6, Longstaff 6, Anderson n/a, Targett n/a.

LIVERPOOL: Alisson 9, Robertson 8, Van Dijk 3, Matip 8, Alexander-Arnold 6, Endo 6, Mac Allister 6, Szoboszlai 8, Gakpo 6, Salah 7, Diaz 6. Subs: Gomez 8, Elliott 8, Jota 7, Quansah 7, Nunez 9.

06’ – LIVERPOOL RED CARD SURVIVAL! Trent Alexander-Arnold picks up an early caution for throwing the ball away and within seconds shoves over Gordon as the Newcastle man threatened to surge down the left wing. The calls are for a second yellow card but the referee opts for just a stern talking to. Newcastle are not happy.

25’ – GOAL! – Newcastle 1-0 Liverpool. Gordon races through and slips the ball underneath Alisson after a major error from Alexander-Arnold, who is having a torrid game so far.

29’ – RED CARD FOR LIVERPOOL! It goes from bad to worse for the visitors. Van Dijk is shown a straight red card for kicking through Isak as the forward looked to turn and race through on goal. It was a lazy challenge from the Dutchman and he pays the price as VAR concurs with the referee that he denied Isak a goalscoring opportunity.

36’ – NEWCASTLE CHANCE! What a save! Almiron unleashes a scorching 15-yard volley that Alisson somehow pushes onto the bar before scrambling to his feet to beat away the second ball.

65’ – NEWCASTLE CHANCE! Gordon jinks past TAA all too easily and then surges beyond three others in a red shirt before flashing a 20-yard shot wide of Alisson’s left-hand post.

76’ – NEWCASTLE CHANCE! Almiron is so close to a brilliant solo goal as he marauds beyond a couple of challenges before curling a shot that clips the outside of the far post.

81’ – GOAL! – Newcastle 1-1 Liverpool. Nunez stuns St James’ Park as he makes the most of Botman’s mistake to rifle a low shot into the far corner.

90+3’ – GOAL! – Newcastle 1-2 Liverpool. Nunez latches on to Salah’s pass and fizzes in what looks like being the winner! Incredible.

• Núñez’s 90th-minute winner was the 42nd that Liverpool have scored in the Premier League, the most by any team in the competition’s history.
• Liverpool have had a player red carded in back-to-back Premier League games for the first time since March/April 2015 against Man Utd and Arsenal. They had only had two red cards across their previous 139 league matches before this.
• Gordon has scored two goals in his last four Premier League matches, that’s one more than in his previous 26.
• Virgil van Dijk received his first red card in 177 league appearance.