From Isak’s Absence to Ngumoha’s Emergence: A Wild Night at St James’ Park | OneFootball

It was a fiery Monday night at St James’ Park, though the pre-match headlines belonged to someone who wasn’t even on the pitch. Alexander Isak was at the centre of attention amid intensifying transfer rumours linking him with Liverpool, after failing to report for Newcastle’s pre-season as his strike continued.

The build-up didn’t need extra drama, but Sky Sports stoked the flames with a promo showing Isak in red. Then, on Sunday evening, WWE’s JD McDonagh poured petrol on the fire during a live show in Newcastle, unveiling a Liverpool shirt with “Isak 9” on the back. Various outlets have been promoting betting offers based on where the Swede will be at the end of the transfer window.

By kick-off, all the anger and tension that had been simmering for weeks boiled over. St James’ Park was rocking — every Newcastle clearance was cheered like a goal, every Liverpool mistake met with roars of approval.

The match itself began with chaos and intensity but little football. The ball was rarely in play for long spells, the stop-start nature making it impossible for the game to find rhythm — very much by Newcastle’s design. It was a disruptive, physical approach, something Arne Slot later touched on in his post-match comments.

“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. I liked how we stood strong; we didn’t collapse at all.”

The first real chance of the night came midway through the first half when Harvey Barnes whipped in a brilliant cross from the left. Anthony Gordon met it well, but his header glanced just over the bar, the sort of chance a true out-and-out number nine might have buried.

It was Newcastle who looked the brighter side, enjoying more of the ball and carrying the greater threat going forward. But their pressure counted for nothing when, against the run of play, Ryan Gravenberch produced a moment of real quality with a strike from outside the box that left Nick Pope rooted as the champions snatched the lead.

The intensity, passion, and aggression that had been promised from Newcastle were on full display throughout the first half, but it ultimately boiled over. Just before the break, their ferocity cost them dearly when Gordon lunged recklessly into Virgil van Dijk with a late challenge. The referee, Simon Hooper, who endured a questionable evening to say the least, initially reached for a yellow card. However, after a VAR intervention and a check on the pitchside monitor, he overturned his decision and produced a straight red for Gordon.

Things went from bad to worse for Newcastle almost instantly after the restart. Within moments, Cody Gakpo slipped a clever pass through to Hugo Ekitike, who calmly finished to double Liverpool’s lead. It was a hammer blow to Eddie Howe’s men and a huge boost for Arne Slot’s side, though the Dutchman missed the goal entirely, still making his way back from the dressing room.

The match then swung into a different rhythm, as Liverpool had taken control of the ball, not taking many risks and trying to dominate possession while tiring Newcastle out.

However, that changed when Tino Livramento combined brilliantly with Bruno Guimarães to drag Newcastle back into the contest at 2–1, lifting the noise levels inside St James’ Park. From that moment, the home side grew in confidence. They weren’t throwing bodies forward recklessly, but they stayed in the fight and eventually pounced when Nick Pope launched a long ball that caught Liverpool’s backline off guard. William Osula raced through and coolly slotted past Alisson to level the game at 2–2.

But just like in the first half, Liverpool snatched away the hope. A slick passing move saw almost the entire team involved, before Mo Salah slipped a clever ball across the box. Dominik Szoboszlai produced a brilliant dummy, letting it run perfectly into the path of 16-year-old debutant Rio Ngumoha. The youngster showed composure beyond his years, slotting past Pope to score his first Liverpool goal — and, remarkably, the match-winner in the 11th minute of stoppage time. In doing so, he became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history, delivering three massive points for the Reds.

Now that the on-field battle has settled, it’s fair to say the Isak saga is far from over. Questions remain about his future, and Newcastle supporters are left wondering whether their star striker will still be wearing black and white come the end of the window. The uncertainty grows with each passing day, and while the noise around his potential move to Liverpool intensifies, there’s still a lot of work to be done before anything is finalised, but it is set to be an intriguing few days of the transfer window.