Winners and losers from dramatic Liverpool win over Newcastle include Arne Slot
Liverpool recorded a last-gasp 3-2 win at Newcastle United to maintain their 100 per cent record through two games of the Premier League season.
Prodigious 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha became Liverpool’s youngest ever scorer as his 100th-minute winner bailed out Arne Slot and his Liverpool side after a lacklustre performance against the 10-man Magpies at St James’ Park.
Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike scored brilliant goals either side of the half-time, leaving Liverpool in cruise control following Anthony Gordon’s red card for his reckless challenge on Virgil van Dijk.
Newcastle’s resilience was outstanding, pinning Liverpool back and grabbing two goals through Bruno Guimaraes and William Osula.
With Liverpool having to rely on a late moment of magic yet again after the dramatic 4-2 season-opening win over Bournemouth, there are both winners and losers from Arne Slot’s squad.
Arne Slot among losers from Newcastle vs Liverpool
Despite guiding his side to what is a good away win on paper, Slot has clear problems when it comes to the balance of his squad.
With three of their new signings playing yesterday, it’s clear that these players perhaps haven’t yet gelled perfectly in a defensive way.
The sale of Luis Diaz, such an effective presser off the ball, will undoubtedly alter how Liverpool approach games, and it’s up to Slot to ensure his side remain a tougher opposition to crack.
Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher slammed Liverpool’s tactics in transition against Bournemouth, yet against Newcastle it was simple weak defending that gave the hosts a foothold in the game.
Having conceded four goals already this season, it’s no shock that Liverpool are the favourites to sign Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi.
The Reds’ most disappointing player of the season so far is undoubtedly Ibrahima Konate, making two big mistakes already this season
- Allows Semenyo to run at him unopposed, leading to Bournemouth’s equaliser
- Fails to challenge Dan Burn in the air, leading to Osula’s 89th-minute equaliser for Newcastle
After the match last night, Carragher claimed Liverpool centre-back Konate was ‘not at the races’ and has been ‘all over the place’.
Read more: ‘All roads lead to Alexander Isak’ as Liverpool ready deadline-busting transfer
Hugo Ekitike shines bright once more
Amid all the transfer news regarding Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, Ekitike is showing everyone why he is good enough to lead Liverpool’s front line.
With three goals in his first three matches, the French striker has exceeded expectations following his £69million move to Liverpool from Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.
His finish against Newcastle was another cultured one, side-footing the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
Establishing a good relationship with in-form star Cody Gakpo has been beneficial to Ekitike’s game, and he shows no sign of slowing down.
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