Dominik Szoboszlai's Late Penalty Rescues Draw for Liverpool Against Newcastle
Dominik Szoboszlai held his nerve deep into stoppage time to rip up Newcastle’s script and snatch a point for Liverpool at the end of a wild afternoon Kevin Keegan would have happily claimed as his own.
With the clock showing the ninth minute of added time and St James’ Park baying for full-time, Szoboszlai stepped up from 12 yards after Lewis Hall was penalised for a late challenge on substitute Victor Munoz. One clean strike later, it was 2-2, Liverpool’s unbeaten run on Tyneside stretched to 10 games, and a furious home crowd left to digest a result that felt like a defeat.
Newcastle had done enough to win it. Twice.
Joe Willock, on the pitch only seconds, thought he had delivered the decisive blow on 57 minutes, drilling across Alisson Becker to restore the lead almost immediately after Cody Gakpo’s leveller had wiped out Anthony Elanga’s first-half opener. The stadium shook. The new era under Matthias Jaissle suddenly looked very real.
Instead, the final act belonged to Liverpool’s captain and a referee’s whistle.
Keegan in the air, Isak in the firing line
This was a day drenched in nostalgia before a ball was kicked. Both teams emerged for the warm-up in Keegan number seven shirts, Tyneside and Merseyside united in applause for a man who lit up both clubs. The sentiment vanished the moment the game started.
Alexander Isak, back at St James’ Park in different colours and for a hefty £130 million, walked into a wall of noise. Every touch, every misstep, greeted with relish by a home crowd of 52,630 that had not forgotten. He endured a miserable return, overshadowed completely by Yoane Wissa, who produced his most complete Newcastle performance since arriving to help fill the void Isak left behind.
Jaissle, still only weeks into the job and still working with a squad that may yet change again before the window closes, saw enough to be encouraged. His side were bold, aggressive, and for long spells, smarter. Across the technical area, Andoni Iraola left with a point and relief, but also with a list of problems that Liverpool’s carelessness in possession had laid bare.
Elanga strikes, Liverpool stumble
The temperature rose early. Five minutes in, Newcastle sliced Liverpool open with a move that belonged to a team far more settled than Jaissle’s is on paper.
Amar Dedic, impressive from the first whistle, slid a precise ball into Will Osula. One touch, one perfectly weighted pass, and Elanga was away. He burned past Milos Kerkez, opened his body and whipped a right-foot finish across Alisson into the far corner. Simple, ruthless, 1-0.
Liverpool tried to respond immediately. Lukas Hornicek, calm where others might have panicked, sprang to his right to beat away a deflected effort from Florian Wirtz on 18 minutes. It should have been a platform. Instead, Liverpool kept giving the ball away and inviting trouble.
Lewis Miley sprayed a raking pass out to Dedic on 22 minutes, the full-back’s shot clipping Kerkez and looping behind for a corner. Jeremy Jacquet then stretched just enough to stop Osula from reaching a clever Wissa through-ball. Newcastle sensed vulnerability. Liverpool, for all their possession, created almost nothing of substance.
Szoboszlai’s 26th-minute free-kick, driven straight into the wall after Wissa had tugged him back, summed up their first half: ideas, but no incision. The whistle went with Newcastle’s narrow lead intact and fully deserved.
Gakpo hits back, Willock ignites St James’
Liverpool returned with more purpose. An early Szoboszlai corner caused brief chaos, but Newcastle should have punished them on the break when Harvey Barnes and Elanga tore forward and failed to make it count. Miley then shot tamely at Alisson on 48 minutes when better composure might have doubled the lead.
The warning signs were there. Gakpo took notice.
On 53 minutes he bent a curling effort just over with Hornicek rooted. Two minutes later, given time and space 25 yards out, he made no mistake. The shot skidded low, arrowing beyond Hornicek and into the corner. 1-1, and suddenly Liverpool looked like the side more likely to run away with it.
Newcastle refused to fold. The response was instant and brutal.
Wissa, dancing through a crowded area with those sharp, quick feet, opened a lane for Willock. The substitute stepped inside, picked his spot and drove the ball unerringly across Alisson. From parity to pandemonium in a heartbeat. Jaissle turned to his bench in triumph; Iraola stared at the grass.
Late chances, late twist
Newcastle smelled blood. Jacob Ramsey, another substitute, could have killed it on 70 minutes but dragged a volley wide. Wissa then raced clear one-on-one, only for Alisson to stand tall and block. Those misses would linger.
Liverpool pushed, but without the clarity of a side in control. Newcastle dropped deeper, defended in numbers, and waited for the whistle. It never came.
Instead, in stoppage time, Munoz darted into the box. Hall moved to meet him. Referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot, to Hall’s disbelief and the crowd’s fury. There was no overturn, no reprieve.
Szoboszlai placed the ball, shut out the noise and drove it home. Cold. Clinical. Crushing.
Newcastle walked off with applause but no victory. Liverpool escaped with a point and a reminder they can still find a way when the clock is against them.
On a day built to honour Keegan’s chaos, the Premier League delivered exactly that. The question now is which of these two managers can turn this kind of drama into something more durable over the season.
