On a night of drama, noise, chaos and pure theatre at St James’ Park, 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha etched his name into Premier League history by scoring a 100th-minute winner to hand champions Liverpool a breathless 3-2 victory over 10-man Newcastle United.
It was a contest that had everything: a red card for Anthony Gordon, a comeback led by Bruno Guimarães and Will Osula, and ultimately a teenage debutant writing his own fairy tale.
Liverpool Strike First, Newcastle See Red
Newcastle had a ferocious start, but it was Liverpool who drew first blood. Against the run of play, Ryan Gravenberch struck from 25 yards in the 35th minute. His effort took a slight deflection off Fabian Schär, wrong-footing Nick Pope and nestling in the bottom corner.
Just before half-time, the match turned. Referee Simon Hooper, aided by ref-cam and VAR, reviewed Gordon’s lunging challenge on Virgil van Dijk and upgraded the initial yellow to red.
Van Dijk was adamant:
“I said to him if that’s not a sending off then I don’t understand football. Unfortunately these things happen in football. If he meant it or not, it happened.”
Seconds after the restart, Liverpool doubled their lead. Former Newcastle target Hugo Ekitike fired in off Pope’s right post, his third goal in as many games.
Newcastle Roar Back
Staring at defeat, 10-man Newcastle refused to fold. Captain Bruno Guimarães rose above Milos Kerkez to head home Tino Livramento’s cross in the 57th minute, cutting the deficit.
Substitute Will Osula then sent St James’ Park into delirium with an 88th-minute equaliser, racing onto Pope’s long free-kick and slotting past Alisson for his first goal of the season.
It looked as if Newcastle had salvaged a famous point.
Rio Ngumoha Writes History
Liverpool weren’t finished. Deep into stoppage time, Mohamed Salah slid a low ball across the box. Dominik Szoboszlai cleverly stepped over it, and there was Rio Ngumoha, coolly slotting past Pope to win the game.
The 16-year-old, who turns 17 on Friday, became:
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Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer
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The fourth youngest scorer in Premier League history, behind James Vaughan, James Milner and Wayne Rooney
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Only the second 16-year-old to score a Premier League winner, after Rooney’s famous strike against Arsenal in 2002
Liverpool captain Van Dijk hailed the debutant:
“It is a dream debut for him. It was a perfect technique. We stayed calm towards the end, tried to find the right solution in order to score a goal, and we did it. I’m very pleased for Rio.”
Manager Arne Slot was equally impressed:
“It was a great goal for a 16-year-old. It was a big chance. He can finish really well for his age. How firm his shot was, you don’t see this often.”
“He is so confident and for him to score is not completely a coincidence, for his age he is a really good finisher.”
Ngumoha’s Name Among Legends
Youngest Premier League Goalscorers:
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James Vaughan – 16y 270d
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James Milner – 16y 356d
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Wayne Rooney – 16y 360d
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Rio Ngumoha – 16y 361d
Rio Ngumoha’s goal also ranks fourth among the latest goals scored in the competition.
“Not Sure If I Saw a Football Match” – Arne Slot
For Slot, the drama was unlike anything he had expected:
“I’m not too sure if I saw a football match today. It was set-piece after set-piece, long throws. It didn’t have a lot to do with tactics.”
But I liked a lot how we stood strong. It was a very difficult first half hour, 45 minutes. We didn’t collapse at all and went 1-0 up.”
“They going down to 10 men, you would expect is a big plus for us but when a goalkeeper takes every free-kick, there is not much hope if you are one player up.”
“That’s why it was so difficult to bring the 2-0 over the line.”
What Went Wrong for Newcastle?
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe faces a striker crisis, with Gordon suspended for three games and Fabian Schär, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton all injured.
Meanwhile, unsettled forward Alexander Isak who was absent from the squad amid transfer speculation, saw his teammates battle without him.
For Liverpool, the night belonged to a teenager. Rio Ngumoha, signed from Chelsea’s youth system last summer, had already turned heads in pre-season.
Now, with a historic debut goal in a chaotic, unforgettable night at St James’ Park, he has announced himself to the Premier League.
