5 hours ago
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Hugo Ekitike scored so early into the second half of Liverpool's game against Newcastle that even Reds head coach Arne Slot did not see the goal.
There will have been thousands of supporters at St. James' Park who missed the 46th-minute strike as they returned from half-time refreshments and toilet breaks.
Slot was also yet to return to his position in the dug-out, but jogged up to join his coaching staff in the moments after the goal, presumably having heard the celebratory roars from the thousands of Liverpool fans in attendance. The Liverpool head coach looked delighted as he clasped hands with Sipke Hulshoff and put his arm around Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
Ekitike has now scored three goals in three appearances for his new club, having also netted against Crystal Palace and Bournemouth earlier this month.
The Liverpool boss said he missed his side's second goal - 20 seconds into the second half - as he was still making his way back to the bench.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Slot adds: "I don't think my team has scored a goal so fast. I kept on walking and my assistant said we had scored!"
Despite the strong start to the second half, by the 57th minute, Liverpool found themselves back at square one. Bruno Guimaraes met Tino Livramento’s cross from the right and steered a precise header into the bottom corner, restoring parity and setting up a tense finale despite Newcastle’s numerical disadvantage.
The Magpies’ persistence paid off again just before the 90th minute. A long free-kick was launched forward, Dan Burn rose to flick it on, and substitute Osula calmly tucked the ball past Alisson to stun the visitors.
But Liverpool’s response was immediate. Premier League debutant Rio Ngumoha, fresh from the bench, pounced to restore the lead and write his name into the story of the night.
On the atmosphere at St James' Park, Slot said: "So many things happened, where it was complete chaos, where the fans were so loud and so there for the home team and our fans tried to help us as much as they could.
"It was an unbelievable atmosphere and for us to stay strong in that atmosphere for such a long time is worth more to me than when we play every single time out from the back and we have a four or five-nil win.
These wins, these mean more to me than when we play good football because tonight had, for me, nothing to do with tactics or good football.
"It was a great game to watch but not because of tactics or good football. But because for every single second of the game everybody was on the front of their seat."
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