Ngumoha and Gordon spoil it for Newcastle after Osula offered perfect Isak, Liverpool middle finger
We thought Anthony Gordon had spoiled our fun before William Osula gave Liverpool and Alexander Isak a glorious middle finger. Then a child came off the bench…
As Jamie Carragher said in the Sky Sports studio, Gordon had been “the best player on the pitch by a distance in the first half” before recklessly raking his studs down the back of Virgil van Dijk’s leg to give them a mountain to climb in Isak-ico after Newcastle dominated Liverpool in a first half to raise hope of the most delicious of all outcomes. What a muppet.
Neutrals the world over were put in the uncomfortable position of rooting for a state-backed team thanks to a spoiled brat refusing to train or play for them against a side that’s played no small part in that downing of tools after a derisory £110m bid turned Alexander Isak’s head to such a degree that it’s a surprise it remains on his slumped shoulders.
The striker Liverpool had hijacked them to sign this summer was enduring a bit of a nightmare, as all the Liverpool players were, Gordon was proving himself a more than useful stand-in for Isak, and it felt like a case of when, not if the roof would come off St James’ Park through a goal acting as a bird flip to Isak, Hugo Ekitike and every Red Cartel stakeholder, with several further goals in the post.
Ryan Gravenberch’s strike in the 35th minute had admittedly dampened the mood slightly, and his deflected shot from outside the box did bring Liverpool back into it a bit, but it was less a turning of the tide and more a brief hiatus from the waves battering against Alisson’s goal.
Arne Slot’s half-time team talk must still have centred around his side’s inability to control the game having failed spectacularly to match Newcastle’s “intensity”, as was the case at St James’ Park last season and in the Carabao Cup final, but he will have fancied his side’s chances after Gordon’s stupidity not evened things out.
Gordon had headed one decent chance over the bar, gifting Chris Sutton the perfect but slightly unfair “if that’s Alexander Isak” opportunity, and two further chances within the space of a couple of minutes, bullying Ibrahima Konate from a long ball in one instance, and very nearly directing an Anthony Elanga cross past Alisson having burst in ahead of Dominik Szoboszlai at the back post in another.
There will have been plenty of bets placed on a red card in this game and more piled specifically on Gordon before his awful challenge on Van Dijk, such was an intensity tantamount to mania on his part in response to a febrile atmosphere, with his name chanted by the Toon fans more than anyone else as they bayed for Liverpool blood.
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Metaphorically though, Anthony.
The dumbfounded look on his face as Van Dijk showed him the stud marks on his legs adds credence to the suggestion that Gordon isn’t one of football’s great thinkers, and effectively cost his side anything from this game, as no-one watching – given how bad Liverpool were and how good Newcastle were – could imagine 11vs11 ending in a victory for Arne Slot’s side. They were so poor.
The implication of Gordon’s red card is that Howe will have little option but to play William Osula – the only recognised senior striker on his books – on Saturday against Leeds, assuming they continue to fail in mammoth bids for second-rate Premier League strikers having had a £50m offer for Jorgen Strand Larsen rejected by Wolves on Monday. But Osula would disappointed not to play now.
In this mad world in which £25m strikers are worth more than double, where everything appears to be going against Newcastle, of course the striker they tried to sign, who many believe Liverpool overpaid for, scored his third goal in three games, delightfully side-footing in from the edge of the box second after half-time. But there was an ace in a hole.
Nick Pope hoofed it long, Ibrahima Konate’s nightmare start to the season continued and Osula stole in to slide the ball under Alisson. Glorious. Perfect. Stop the clocks.
Except, if anything, ten-man Newcastle looked the more likely to claim three points. They were pushing, but were caught off guard by Liverpool’s decision in the 100th minute of the game to start playing football.
It was a delightful move, ending with Dominik Szoboszlai stepping over the ball to leave it for Rio Ngumoha, who becomes the second 16-year-old to score a Premier League winner, after one Wayne Rooney. Quite the finish as well, swept superbly into the corner with unerring accuracy at quite some pace.
A wonderful moment for him, and for Liverpool, who have surely never deserved to win a game less under Arne Slot, but a crushing defeat for Newcastle, who deserved all three points on a night when they nearly claimed one in the perfect, f*** you fashion.
