Newcastle United and Liverpool star in one of the hottest rivalries in Premier League right now, marked recently by Newcastle's victory in the EFL Cup and the drama surrounding Alexander Isak, who feels betrayed by Newcastle after his still current club rejected a record-breaking offer from Liverpool.
Yesterday, at St James' Park, in only the second Premier League matchday, Liverpool and Newcastle met again (without Isak), in an electrifying match that seemed to end in a draw, until Rio Ngumoha scored in the 100th minute. He made history by being the youngest goal scorer in Liverpool's history at 16 years and 361 days, and the fourth overall in Premier League history.
Just four days before turning 17, Rio Ngumoha unclogged a match that Newcastle managed to draw in the second half even while playing with ten. Even then, Newcastle still overpowered Liverpool, with Liverpool coach Arne Slot lamenting that "When the goalkeeper takes every free-kick it's not so helpful having the extra man." But the long injury time ended up being decisive for substitute Ngumoha, who had just entered the pitch four minutes earlier from Cody Gakpo, who scored a goal that will become one of the most iconic moments of the season.
Rio Ngumoha, born in 2008 in England from Nigerian and Guadeloupean players, although he represents England internationally, is actually a product of Chelsea academy, where he joined at 8 years old. He moved to Liverpool in 2024, and already made his debut under Arne Slot last season for Cup games, but his Premier League debut arrived on Monday night.