Darwin Nunez bagged his first goals of the season as Liverpool came from behind to dramatically defeat Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds went 1-0 down to Anthony Gordon’s opener midway through the first half after Trent Alexander-Arnold miscontrolled a pass from Mohamed Salah to allow the former Everton winger to break clear and finish past Alisson Becker.
Things went from bad to worse for Liverpool minutes later as Virgil van Dijk was sent off for bringing down Alexander Isak on the edge of the penalty area.
Alisson made a superb stop to palm Miguel Almirón’s fierce volley onto the crossbar to keep Liverpool in it. The winger later struck the post but Newcastle were largely limited after the red card.
Nunez was brought on late with the game in the balance, and the striker pounced on an error from Sven Botman to fire home with a great finish from a tight angle to draw the Reds level as his shot went across Nick Pope and in off the post.
Then, in stoppage time, a perfectly-weighted pass from Salah sent Nunez in again with the striker keeping his composure to snatch all three points for the Reds.
It is the second week in a row Liverpool have come from behind to pick up all three points with Jurgen Klopp’s side now on seven points from a possible nine. Here’s how LiverpoolWorld rated the performances from the Reds players at St James’ Park...
1. Alisson Becker - 8
Pretty faultless again for the Reds. Made six saves, one of which was a stunning dive to palm Miguel Almirón’s fierce volley onto the crossbar to keep the Reds in it shortly after going down to 10 men.
2. Trent Alexander-Arnold - 5
Struggled badly against Gordon and almost got himself sent off but escaped a second yellow card early on. Was unable to provide much going forward. Grave error gifted Newcastle their opener. Recovered well in the second half.
3. Virgil van Dijk - 2
A poor challenge resulted in his dismissal and left the Reds with 10 men for over an hour. He will be a relieved man.
4. Joel Matip - 7
Brought into the starting line-up for the injured Ibrahima Konaté, the centre-back did little wrong at the back with Newcastle’s chances largely limited. Was replaced by Jarell Quansah after 77 minutes, likely to protect his fitness.