Szoboszlai’s Late Penalty Rescues Draw for Liverpool

Andoni Iraola’s first Premier League game in charge of Liverpool ended not with celebration, but with a long exhale of relief.

Dominik Szoboszlai’s penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time salvaged a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park, denying Newcastle United a statement opening-day win and sparing Liverpool from starting a new era with a defeat that their manager insisted they did not deserve.

Final Score: Newcastle 2 - 2 Liverpool

Iraola: “We didn’t deserve to lose”

“It’s not the result you wanted before the game,” Iraola admitted, “but obviously finishing, scoring in the last minute, it gives you a better taste. I don’t think we deserve to lose the game today.

“I value the effort from the players, they never gave up, and at the end it arrived, and we could recover at least one point.”

It was hardly a vintage Liverpool performance. For long spells they laboured, short of fluency and tempo, and were punished by a Newcastle side that mixed sharp attacking moments with some ruinous lapses at the back.

Anthony Elanga struck first for the hosts, giving the reshaped Magpies the ideal platform. St James’ Park responded with the familiar roar, sensing a chance to bloody a heavyweight on opening weekend in the middle of a summer of upheaval.

Liverpool looked blunt. Then the game loosened.

Newcastle’s chances wasted

The turning point seemed to arrive early in the second half. Newcastle’s defence backed off, invited trouble, and Cody Gakpo accepted the invitation. Allowed time and space, he dragged Liverpool level, cancelling out Elanga’s opener and briefly silencing the home crowd.

Newcastle responded, found a second wind, and nudged back in front at 2-1. From there, they had Liverpool where they wanted them: chasing, stretched, and frustrated.

But they never killed it. The pressure built, slowly at first, then relentlessly.

The hosts’ downfall was as simple as it was avoidable. With the game drifting towards a hard-earned win, Lewis Hall lunged in on Victor Munoz in the box. The foul was clumsy, unnecessary, and catastrophic in its timing.

The referee pointed to the spot. Szoboszlai stepped up. St James’ Park held its breath. The Liverpool midfielder buried it, deep into stoppage time, and the away end exploded.

Two points gone in an instant.

Wissa: “That’s the mentality we need”

For Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa, the late blow hurt, but he clung to the bigger picture.

“It’s rough, especially 30 seconds before the end of the game, but that’s a huge step for us. That’s the mentality we need to have through the season,” he said.

“The manager (Matthias Jaissle) came three weeks ago and gave us a lot of information, now we show on the pitch we are ready for the season. We needed this win to make a statement, but in the end we draw. We have so much to work on.”

They do. Newcastle’s attacking intent was clear, their energy obvious, but so too were the scars of a squad stripped of star names over the summer and still adjusting to a new voice on the touchline.

Jaissle fumes at “soft” decision

Jaissle, overseeing his first league match with this remodelled Newcastle, cut a conflicted figure at full-time. Pride and anger, side by side.

“It was indeed a game of mixed feelings, especially in the end when you get a decision, two points away, it is really hard to digest,” he said.

“For me it is a really soft penalty as you call it here, if you give these penalties then you need to give a lot in the season.

“But there is also a lot of confidence and we are really proud of what we saw, the young lads were doing an amazing job with all the challenges of a transition period.

This was special, already delivering on a high level and it makes us proud. (Newcastle have) a really good base to build on.”

He is right about that base. Newcastle, written off by many after their summer exodus, went toe to toe with a Liverpool side expected to contend again. They led twice, matched the intensity, and bled youth into a high-pressure fixture.

Yet the table will show only one point.

For Iraola, that point may feel like a small foundation stone in a much larger rebuild. For Jaissle, it is a reminder that in a season of change, the margins will be brutal — and that one rash tackle in the 99th minute can redraw the story of an entire afternoon.