Liverpool’s 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha etched his name into the club’s record books with a dramatic stoppage-time strike that sealed a 3-2 victory over Newcastle United in a fiery contest at St James’ Park. At 16 years and 361 days, he became Liverpool’s youngest ever goalscorer and the fourth youngest in Premier League history.
A Fiery Encounter
The game unfolded in a hostile atmosphere, heightened by Liverpool’s summer pursuit of Newcastle forward Alexander Isak. Champions looked in control when Ryan Gravenberch’s deflected effort opened the scoring 10 minutes before half-time.
The contest spilled over moments later when Anthony Gordon, filling in as striker, was dismissed for a reckless challenge on Virgil van Dijk. VAR confirmed the red card, leaving Newcastle a man down and seemingly out of the contest.
Just seconds after the restart, Liverpool doubled their lead through Hugo Ekitike, who rejected a move to Newcastle before joining the Reds. His composed finish silenced the home crowd and appeared to kill the contest.
Newcastle’s Fightback
Despite their disadvantage, Newcastle rallied with spirit. Captain Bruno Guimaraes launched the comeback with a diving header just before the hour mark. Then, in the closing stages, substitute William Osula bundled home an equaliser to the delight of the Gallowgate End.
Liverpool, rattled by the turnaround, looked to have squandered two points against ten men.
Ngumoha’s Moment of Glory
But the drama was not over. Deep into the eleventh minute of stoppage time, Ngumoha found himself unmarked inside the box and rifled home the winner with ice-cool precision.
The teenager’s strike sparked wild celebrations in the away end, with supporters chanting about Isak as Liverpool snatched victory at the death. Rio Ngumoha now sits alongside James Vaughan, James Milner and Wayne Rooney as one of the Premier League’s youngest scorers, a landmark that may well be remembered as the start of a glittering career.
