Newcastle started on the front foot and could have been ahead earlier when Harvey Barnes struck the post from a clever free-kick routine, a warning Liverpool didn’t fully heed. The opener arrived on 36 minutes and it was a proper counterpunch: Newcastle surged forward at pace and Anthony Gordon drilled a low finish beyond Alisson to reward their bright start. For a moment, Liverpool looked rattled, struggling to play out cleanly and repeatedly losing second balls in midfield.
Then came the decisive swing. Liverpool levelled on 41 minutes when Florian Wirtz wriggled through traffic and slipped the ball into the path of Hugo Ekitiké, who arrived at the near post to turn it home. Newcastle barely had time to reset before Liverpool struck again two minutes later: Milos Kerkez launched a ball down the line, Ekitiké latched onto it and guided a clever finish across Nick Pope into the far corner. In the space of two minutes the game had flipped completely, and Newcastle’s control had evaporated.
Liverpool came out after the break looking for a kill shot and nearly got it straight away when Ekitiké robbed a defender and went close to completing his hat-trick, only to drag his effort wide. Newcastle tried to regroup and threaten again through quick breaks, but their final pass began to go missing and Liverpool’s midfield started to dominate territory. The third goal on 67 minutes was the moment it felt done: Mohamed Salah combined with Wirtz in a sharp one-two and the German swept a composed finish inside the far post. Liverpool continued to create, and while Newcastle carried a sporadic threat, they couldn’t find the spark to make it messy again.
The final twist arrived deep into stoppage time and it was a nightmare moment for Pope, who spilled a corner under pressure. Ibrahima Konaté—back in the side after compassionate leave—reacted quickest to bundle in Liverpool’s fourth. His celebration was raw and emotional, with team-mates immediately surrounding him as the stadium responded to a poignant personal moment at the end of a big night.
Afterwards, Slot admitted his side were second-best for much of the first half and said Newcastle caused them “a lot of problems” when Liverpool tried to build from the back, but he was delighted with the way they responded once they found their rhythm—particularly the intensity after conceding and the clinical edge around the box. Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was frustrated that a strong opening didn’t produce more than one goal and pointed to that brutal two-minute period before half-time as the hinge of the match, saying his team paid heavily for losing concentration and allowing Liverpool to seize momentum so quickly.
In the end, it was a scoreline that didn’t reflect how dangerous Newcastle looked early on, but it did reflect how ruthless Liverpool were once the door opened. Newcastle had their spell, Liverpool took theirs—and when Liverpool’s wave arrived, it swept the game away.
