Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk saluted Rio Ngumoha’s “dream debut” after the 16-year-old’s thrilling late winner at Newcastle.
The teenager came off the bench to score deep into stoppage time in Monday’s Premier League clash at St James’ Park as the champions snatched a 3-2 victory after 10-man Newcastle had battled back from 2-0 down.
Goals in each half from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike either side of Anthony Gordon’s dismissal looked to have ensured victory for the visitors, but Bruno Guimaraes’ 57th-minute header gave Newcastle hope and Will Osula’s equaliser set up a grandstand finish settled by fellow substitute Ngumoha in the 10th minute of stoppage time.
Van Dijk said: “It is a dream debut for him. It was a perfect technique. We stayed calm towards the end as well, tried to find the right solution in order to score a goal, and we did it. I’m very pleased for Rio.”
The game was played in a lively atmosphere following Liverpool’s failed attempt to sign Newcastle’s unsettled star striker Alexander Isak.
“Obviously we all know it is a difficult place to come, we all know there was a lot of oil on the fire this week to get, especially, Newcastle fired up,” Van Dijk added.
“For us, we are disappointed to concede from two set pieces and that shouldn’t happen but, overall, it’s a great three points. We move on and focus on the next one.”
The Dutchman had little sympathy for Gordon, who was dismissed for a challenge on Van Dijk.
“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,” said the Liverpool defender.
Reds manager Arne Slot felt Newcastle’s approach made it difficult for the visitors.
“I’m not too sure if I saw a football match today,” he said. “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.”
Slot was impressed by Ngumoha’s finish. The youngster starred in preseason and looks set for more chances to impress.
“It was a great goal for a 16-year-old,” he said. “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.”
Howe seeks clarity on Isak
After the game Magpies boss Eddie Howe called for a resolution over Isak’s future with less than a week of the summer transfer window remaining.
Newcastle Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was among the crowd amid reports the owners had met with Isak earlier in the day.
Howe insisted after the game he was not party to what was said during those discussions, but admitted a decision over the Sweden international – the subject of a rejected £110 million bid from the Reds – was needed sooner rather than later.
Howe said: “I’ve not been party to talks on this for a long time now. I’ve been preparing the team and giving all my energy to the players that want to play for Newcastle. I think that is where my energy is best put at the moment.
“We want clarity, we want to move forward, we want the narrative to change because we’re in the start of the season now.
“We’re into the action and we’ve got to get results, and we’ve got to try to focus on what we can control. We’ve given two really, really good performances, we’ve ended up with one point. That’s tough for us to take, especially in this moment where you’re looking for positives to cling to.
“But we battle through and we now go on to Leeds.”
Despite Gordon seeing red for a bad tackle on Van Dijk, Howe had sympathy for the former Everton man who was standing in for Isak up front.
He said: “It’s an unfortunate one, I think he’s slightly unlucky with it. Everyone has told me it’s a clear red; my first opinion was slightly different, but maybe I’ve got the wrong angle, so I’ve got sympathy for him.”
Asked if the three-match suspension Gordon now faces makes Isak’s departure even less likely, Howe said: “Yes, of course. If you do the maths, we’re running out of options in that position.”
