Free highlights and match report as Fabio Carvalho grabs 98th-minute winner for Liverpool to consign Newcastle to first defeat of the season; Liverpool now unbeaten in their last 27 Premier League home games against Newcastle, since a 2-0 loss in April 1994
Thursday 1 September 2022 06:10, UK
Fabio Carvalho scored a dramatic - and contentious - 98th-minute winner as Liverpool came from behind to defeat Newcastle 2-1 on a pulsating night at Anfield.
Just a day after his 20th birthday, substitute Carvalho reacted quickest to score from close range in stoppage time, when five allocated minutes became nine to leave Eddie Howe crestfallen on the touchline.
Alexander Isak's debut goal for Newcastle had been cancelled out by Roberto Firmino's equaliser, and it appeared Liverpool were heading for a result which would have left them nine points adrift of leaders Arsenal.
For so long this felt like a case of 'After the Lord Mayor's Show' following Saturday's 9-0 win over Bournemouth.
Jurgen Klopp opted to name an unchanged starting line-up but his side continued to look off the pace in these early weeks of the season, and fell behind when Isak confidently rifled home on his first start for Newcastle, just hours after he had been granted his work permit and the green light to play on Merseyside.
Isak might have doubled his tally in the second period but his well-taken finish was ruled out for offside, and Liverpool levelled when Firmino slotted from Mohamed Salah's pass just after the hour.
Newcastle sensed they would continue their unbeaten start to the season as the clock ticked into the eighth minute of stoppage time, but Carvalho would have the final say when he swivelled inside the box to hook a right-foot shot high above Nick Pope and in off the underside of the bar.
"I was just there in the right area," Carvalho told BT Sport afterwards. "Happily it fell for me. The fans kept us going and it's just an amazing feeling. It's in our DNA to keep going."
Klopp beamed: "It's a massive boost from a frustrating night. We will remember it for years and years. I'm not 100 per cent sure they all believed until the end but from now on we have to as we showed again it's possible. One of the best nights we ever had, that's how football is.
"But we have to make sure we use these two days really well. The last two games we got six points, but we have to improve. It will not be that Everton open up for us now. We know it will be tough so we have to be ready."
After seeing his side concede one of the latest winners in Premier League history, Newcastle manager Howe described the result as "painful".
"I don't really remember them having too many clear-cut chances. Yes, they had pressure, they're long shots, but I thought we defended really well. The last goal is really a heartbreaker for us," he said.
Having equalled their biggest top-flight win, Liverpool were unsurprisingly full of confidence and in the ascendancy from the first whistle with Luis Diaz seeing his shot from inside the box blocked.
The Colombia international had a glorious chance just three minutes before Isak's opener as he ran onto Firmino's measured through ball to round Pope only to lift his shot from an acute angle wide of the target.
Liverpool would concede first for an eighth time in their last nine Premier League matches, however, as Isak marked his debut with a goal in the 38th minute.
Virgil van Dijk found himself dragged wide by Miguel Almiron as Sean Longstaff slipped the ball through and Isak found space between two defenders before firing into the top left-hand corner.
Newcastle's intent was rewarded while Liverpool looked subdued during a first half in which they had attacked the Kop.
Isak was denied his second when he was deemed to be just ahead of Joe Gomez as he raced into the Liverpool box, chopped back inside Andrew Robertson before beating Alisson only to realise the offside flag had been raised. It was a very close call.
Pope was finally drawn into action on the hour-mark as after Salah was unable to take Jordan Henderson's pass in his stride, Harvey Elliott picked up the loose ball but his low shot was comfortably fielded by the former Burnley goalkeeper.
A minute later, however, Liverpool were level when Salah teed up Firmino for a crisp finish low into the bottom corner. Klopp made a triple substitution in a bid to inject greater urgency but they were frustrated by a sea of black and white shirts.
Pope watched Diaz's fierce drive from distance to palm the shot over the crossbar before a Kostas Tsimikas free-kick landed at the feet of Fabinho but his panicked attempt was lashed off target.
It seemed Newcastle had done enough to earn a valuable point but after James Milner's corner was kept alive by Gomez, Salah rose at the far post to inadvertently set up Carvalho for an instinctive, unstoppable finish beyond Pope.
Newcastle are now winless in 12 Premier League games against Liverpool, since a 2-0 home win in December 2015 under Steve McClaren. On nights like these, when victory slipped away during the second half, they may wonder if they will get a better chance of ending that run.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told BT Sport: "It's difficult to pick up the rhythm from a game where everything clicked immediately and you find yourself in situations where it isn't clicking immediately.
"Even before we were 1-0 down we looked in situations a little bit desperate. We had to force ourselves to keep calm a little more and keep going. In the end we forced it and what a wonderful goal from the birthday kid.
"This is the best way to win a football game. I think that we scored after 90+8 is the perfect response. I'm really happy about that."
On Carvalho, Klopp added: "For him it's his second goal. Fantastic boy, we changed pretty much everything, very offensive orientated but he can also play there. If a boy is as good as he is then he needs the moment."
The win did come with one major concern, as captain Jordan Henderson was brought off in the second half with a hamstring injury which Klopp said must be assessed.
"It is absolutely not helpful," said the manager, who is already without the likes of Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield.
Henderson's injury might have put a slight dampener on Klopp's evening, but it was nothing compared to the frustration of Eddie Howe, who thought his side were going to leave Anfield with a deserved point.
"I thought we got a really good performance," he said. "In the first half we were very brave, pressed them high, tried to disrupt their rhythm, in a different way to our game against Manchester City.
"I thought we defended well for large parts, minimised their chance to play through us. I was very pleased with the commitment and unity, and bitterly disappointed with the end."
Five minutes of added time had been indicated, but Howe said he would leave it to others to debate why eight were actually played.
"As I am sat here I have no idea," he said. "It seemed the final whistle would never come but we needed to defend the final situation better than we did. It is a cruel game."
Amid the frustration there was encouragement in the performance of Isak, who might have had a second goal but for a tight offside call before leaving the game with a dead leg.
"His finish and the overall performance was very good," Howe said. "I'm really pleased with his tactical discipline.
"On the ball he gave us that pace in behind that teams need. The second goal I didn't realise how close it is. He showed what he will bring the team."
Sky Sports football journalist Ben Grounds:
"Seven fist pumps showed you what it meant.
"Seven fist pumps from Jurgen Klopp in front of the Kop signalled a release of frustration from the Liverpool manager after Fabio Carvalho scored eight minutes into stoppage time.
"Seven points are what separate Liverpool from Premier League leaders Arsenal, but while the German described the 2-1 win over Newcastle as "one of the best nights we ever had", he warned his players much better will be required in Saturday's Merseyside derby.
"It looked as though they would need to settle for another point in a stuttering start to the season, but eight minutes into added time Carvalho rifled home following a goal-mouth scramble and the roof came off Anfield.
"All those years ago, Stan Collymore broke Newcastle hearts. That night in April 1996, when Liverpool won 4-3 against Newcastle at Anfield, Carvalho was not even born.
"Seen as the greatest Premier League game of all time - he will certainly have heard about it by now a few times since scoring in the 98th minute of a meeting that never lets you down.
"Jason Tindall, the Newcastle assistant head coach, had his arms outstretched towards the fourth official David Coote as Klopp struggled to stifle a huge grin. He knew his side had got away with one here, not just in the performance but in the timing - and manner - of the winning goal.
"Joe Willock did not know much about where the ball had dropped - in the same way Jordan Pickford did not when Divock Origi struck in the 96th minute against Everton back in December 2018. Carvalho certainly did, watching it all the way onto his right boot before launching a rocket past Pope.
"Newcastle protests were drowned out by the Kop. What a birthday present, a day after turning 20, to enliven Anfield. Carvalho was lifted into the sky by the excellent Harvey Elliott. Klopp said how a 1-0 win over Bournemouth would have satisfied him just as much as it did in seeing his side score nine.
"Here was that slender win on a night when his side had not performed anywhere near their best. A sickener for Newcastle but Klopp will feel relief and delight in equal measure, and this was just the sort of result that will rouse the spirits heading into Saturday's Merseyside derby at Everton."
Liverpool travel to Everton for the Merseyside derby on Saturday at 12.30pm, before Newcastle host Crystal Palace on Saturday at 3pm.
