Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Newcastle as Szoboszlai and 3 more excellent

ST JAMES' PARK, NEWCASTLE // Newcastle United fought back from two goals down against Liverpool, despite the home side having 10 men for most of the game, before 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha popped up with a HUGE moment in the 10th minute of stoppage time.

Liverpool had been under immense pressure for much of the first third of the game, but Ryan Gravenberch put his side in front with a good strike that nicked in off the post. The Reds had done well to weather the storm and take the early heat out of the contest, and things changed again when Anthony Gordon was sent off.

Almost as soon as the second half had begun, Hugo Ekitike doubled the Liverpool lead, but Bruno Guimaraes cut it in half again with a header that beat Alisson Becker, and Will Osula came up with a late strike from a long free-kick. But then Ngumoha, somehow, found himself unmarked at the back post to steal the three points back.

Winners

Dominik Szoboszlai was excellent in a new position and he really battled well to put his team in a position to earn a huge victory away from home. Ekitike, scoring early in the second half, took another big step in the right direction too.

Gordon's red card changed things, but Liverpool should have done enough to get over the line even before Ngumoha. It goes without saying, of course, that the teenager was a winner here, in every sense.

Losers

Gordon was shown a red card in the first half and that changed the game for his side. It was a silly, unneccessary tackle and one that was always likely to end up in a sending off. Gordon was fired up and charging around the field, but there is a fine line to tread. His challenge on Virgil van Dijk landed on the wrong side of it with such high contact.

Player ratings

Alisson Becker (7). Some good handling from set-pieces helped Liverpool escape some of the pressure that was building at times. His distribution was good too, and he couldn't do anything with the Guimaraes header from close range. He perhaps could have done a bit more with the equalizer.

Dominik Szoboszlai (8). Slotting in at right-back (like Jarell Quansah in this fixture last season), the Hungarian did well to show that he can play that role to a good level, in such a tricky and intense game. As soon as he won one battle, he was fighting the next, but he just kept going. He did nothing wrong.

Ibrahima Konate (7). Booked for a blatant pull-back on Gordon around halfway through the first half. Some of his passing could have been sharper (he nearly gave away a first-half goal with one error) but he did well enough in the end. He was treading a fine line at times but just about kept his cool. Could he have done more to head clear before Osula netted?

Virgil van Dijk (8). Stood up and won so many battles in the air, using his height and power to get above his man. Really dragged his defense through the opening stages, when it was very difficult, and did the same in a similar period in the second half. Like Szoboszlai, there wasn't much more he could have done.

Milos Kerkez (7). Up against Anthony Elanga, the new big-money Newcastle signing, the former Bournemouth ace had to use all his speed and recovery pace to keep up. He was dangerously close to flying into tackles at times but just about avoided doing anything silly just when it looked like he might.

Ryan Gravenberch (8). Back in the starting XI after injury, the Dutchman picked up a booking early on and then had to tread carefully from that point onwards. There were shaky moments but he grew into the game and put his side ahead with a good strike from outside the box. He helped with getting more balance in the middle, but Liverpool still hasn'tt perfected it.

Curtis Jones (7). With Alexis Mac Allister missing, the Liverpool academy graduate had to step into the team. He helps keep possession and needed to battle. His ability to hold onto the ball was important and he did lots defensively as well.

Mohamed Salah (6). With an excellent record against Newcastle (10 goals and eight assists in 18 games), the Egyptian had to do his fair share of defending and running off the ball here. It wasn't a game where he could do loads going forward and he miss-hit things when he got the chance.

Florian Wirtz (6). The German said this week that the intensity of the Premier League is something that he won't need too much time to adapt to because he has experienced the Bundesliga. It is safe to say he will know all about it now. He ran and he chased, but there wasn't loads that he could do in possession as a result of the ferocious tempo.

Cody Gakpo (7). He helped bring Liverpool up the pitch a few times when he got his head down and ran with the ball. He played in a couple of good balls that a teammate should probably have read a little better.

Hugo Ekitike (7). In the first half, Liverpool needed the Frenchman to hold the ball up a little better, when he was struggling with battling the Newcastle central defenders. He just couldn't seem to find his touch and his passing deserted him. After he scored, though, he improved.

Substitutes

Federico Chiesa (6). Unable to make the same impact that he made against Bournemouth but got through some running. He was the only natural attacking option to play in the forward line when Ekitike and Wirtz came off.

Conor Bradley (6). Back from injury and straight into an intense atmosphere. Szoboszlai did well but the position will be Bradley's for next week if he can get himself back up to full match fitness before then. This will have helped.

Rio Ngumoha (8). Didn't look out of place. He wasn't on for long but sent the away fans wild with a late, late goal.