Nunez brace helps ten man Liverpool stun Newcastle

Darwin Nunez scored a sensational brace in the closing stages as ten-man Liverpool stunned Newcastle 2-1 at St James’ Park on Sunday evening.

Jurgen Klopp’s side played with a man down for over an hour after Virgil Van Dijk was sent off, yet the Reds will leave Tyneside with three massive points.

On the other hand, the Magpies failed to hold on to a lead despite having an extra player, capitulating late on in front of their vociferous home faithful.

Newcastle Take The Lead

Anthony Gordon opened the scoring for the hosts in the 25^th minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold misjudged Mohamed Salah’s back pass.

This enabled the Newcastle winger to run through on goal and slot the finish between Alisson’s legs to give his side the lead on the day.

Van Dijk sent off

Van Dijk was then sent off three minutes later for a needless rash tackle on Alexander Isak as referee John Brooks had no hesitation in showing him his marching orders.

Newcastle almost doubled their lead in the 36^th minute. However, Alisson kept out Miguel Almiron’s goal-bound volley with a stunning save that came off the bar as Liverpool survived.

Despite falling behind, Liverpool played with great determination in the second half, looking to get back in the game with their slick interplay.

The Reds survived again in the 76th minute when Almiron struck the post with a beautiful curling effort.

From then on, it was all Liverpool. Substitute Darwin Nunez took advantage of Sven Botman mistake in the final third to restore parity with a brilliant first-time finish in the 81^st minute.

The Uruguayan then scored his second in stoppage time, taking advantage of Dan Burn’s lack of judgement to fire past Nick Pope to give Liverpool the three points on the day.

The Reds will look to build on this massive win as they host Aston Villa at Anfield next weekend. Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, meanwhile, will look to put this disappointment behind them as they travel to Brighton for a tricky assignment.

Photo credit: IMAGO / Propaganda Photo