How Newcastle and Liverpool battled to a point apiece in a great opening game on Tyneside

[p]A period of applause for the late Kevin Keegan by fans of the two teams he is most associated with was properly observed before kick-off.[/p][embed guid="cf791e20-20ba-48bf-a6b4-f37777f1cf00" url="https://x.com/NUFC/status/2091551093440327747" social-type="twitter" /][h2]Quickfire opener from Elanga[/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/isak-alexander/p41IV42c/"]Alexander Isak[/a], on his first appearance back at the club he served before signing for the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/liverpool/lId4TMwf/"]Reds[/a], was roundly booed on every touch, whilst the new-look [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/newcastle-utd/p6ahwuwJ/"]Magpies[/a] didn't take long to settle.[/p][image alt="Newcastle v Liverpool - Match stats" id="c9c4905f-da38-4c3b-9a86-e38654328bf6" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="c8903b9a-53b0-477e-a3f9-13ed476e3c22" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Without the bite and work rate of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bruno-guimaraes/xtyKanzU/"]Bruno Guimaraes[/a] in midfield, much was expected of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/miley-lewis/nR5TcNGS/"]Lewis Miley[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/steur-sean/M7pUtmE7/"]Sean Steur[/a], the latter being the second-youngest player to feature in a Premier League opening game for Newcastle, being only a day older than [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/milner-james/QLY3kAEt/"]James Milner[/a] was in 2004/05.[/p][p]However, it was a fast break from [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/osula-will/jT765A5D/"]William Osula[/a] that split the visitors' defence ahead of the opening goal.[/p][embed guid="d3de9dd8-b785-4487-9f78-9b5831b85224" url="https://x.com/NUFC/status/2091551323900559490" social-type="twitter" /][p]He found [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/elanga-anthony/dOlRWlZ6/"]Anthony Elanga,[/a] and the winger outsprinted [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kerkez-milos/2H46JAgp/"]Milos Kerkez[/a] before dispatching a low shot past [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alisson/UZrQ3bwP/"]Alisson[/a] to give Newcastle the lead with the first shot from either side in the game.[/p][h2]Liverpool take the initiative[/h2][p]Liverpool had failed to win any of their last four when conceding first in the league, coincidentally since a victory over Newcastle on January 31, 2026, but they began to take control of the match soon after the goal.[/p][p]A cumulative 69% possession in the opening 25 minutes included a period of play in which they had seven efforts at goal, though a lack of quality in their finishing meant that Newcastle retained the lead.[/p][image alt="Newcastle v Liverpool - Momentum shift" id="2dcb0a04-95d3-4b34-b1cd-cb5c20cdbd89" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="fdb6a356-8808-49c4-afb2-fda8191d9e7f" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wissa-yoane/b35gWzB2/"]Yoane Wissa[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/dedic-amar/Q1ROYFRs/"]Amir Dedic[/a] were particularly impressive from the hosts, with the latter's raiding down the Liverpool left side causing Kerkez untold problems. Dedic's 88.9% pass completion with half an hour played was a standout stat, as the Magpies continued to probe.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/wirtz-florian/0Q5gjImi/"]Florian Wirtz[/a]'s 100% success in one-on-one duels was necessary in order to stem the tide, with [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/szoboszlai-dominik/dERKtqoo/"]Dominik Szoboszlai[/a] also getting in amongst it with six duels contested before the break.[/p][h2]Ngumoha and Isak struggled[/h2][p]Liverpool's 4-2-3-1 switched with ease to a 4-1-4-1 when attacking, and that overload up front ensured that the Newcastle back line, without the injured [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/burn-dan/fyP3wtr0/"]Dan Burn[/a], were kept on their toes.[/p][p]Indeed, it was the visitors ahead on every metric bar dribbles attempted when the whistle was blown for the break, including total passes (180 - 166), crosses (13 - 2) and aerial duels won (66.7% - 33.3%).[/p][image alt="Rio Ngumoha's player rating" id="a158333e-bf9a-46d9-b293-2be952c15422" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="8ca2bae3-99e2-4517-abf4-5a387980fa2d" original-width="2160" original-height="2702" /][p]Much will be expected of young [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ngumoha-rio/rejpF30d/"]Rio Ngumoha[/a] this season, but the youngster struggled for large parts of this game.[/p][p]Just 15 touches before the hour mark was the worst of any Liverpool outfield player, and no shots on or off target told their own story.[/p][embed guid="d418f760-00ed-4396-8e9a-563241f6def4" url="https://x.com/LFC/status/2091567083620311131" social-type="twitter" /][p]Former Newcastle striker Alexander Isak hadn't fared much better, having only two touches in the box in the same time period, before out of nothing, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gakpo-cody/pWyuBud0/"]Cody Gakpo[/a] arrowed a low shot into the net for an equaliser that changed the atmosphere inside the ground in an instant.[/p][h2]Super sub Willock [/h2][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/willock-joseph/j3oBtT40/"]Joe Willock[/a], a substitute for the hosts in the immediate aftermath of that goal, managed to steer a shot home with just his second touch of the game, and inside two minutes of his entrance onto the pitch.[/p][p]A first Premier League goal for the player since February 2024 was also his second in 10 appearances against the Reds.[/p][embed guid="f44c048a-1f4d-4af6-aa33-623dc2341513" url="https://x.com/NUFC/status/2091568211720364213" social-type="twitter" /][p]At the opposite end, Isak found himself unmarked but skied his effort well over, in a match that was becoming a personal nightmare for him at a ground where he was previously hero-worshipped.[/p][p]Although the Swede had won both of his headed duels and four of the six ground one-on-ones he'd attempted, he had only touched the ball 24 times, and his pass completion was a poor 75%.[/p][h2]A late, late Liverpool show again[/h2][p]Teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jacquet-jeremy/h0WK6DL4/"]Jeremy Jacquet[/a] can at least be pleased with his performance on his league debut, with a solid 90.2% pass completion, all of his duels and tackles won, and all of his dribbles completed.[/p][p]A back five from Newcastle in the closing stages limited the damage that Liverpool could do, and as the Reds pressed for a late equaliser, they were indebted to Alisson for keeping out Wissa's strike as the attacker looked set to put the game to bed.[/p][embed guid="27b7340c-bb70-4186-961e-573c01725331" url="https://x.com/premierleague/status/2091579635519615050" social-type="twitter" /][p]Only Gakpo had taken more shots at goal than Wissa's four, and the all-action performance from the latter was warmly received by the locals. He really should've connected to a wonderful late [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/murphy-jacob/b5WYEjtm/"]Jacob Murphy[/a] cross, however.[/p][p]A late flurry from the Reds looked to have been too little, too late, until [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hall-lewis/rJOyDa3N/"]Lewis Hall[/a]'s late challenge on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/munoz-victor/EBMXXrd3/"]Victor Munoz[/a] handed Liverpool a penalty in time added on at the end of injury time.[/p][p]Szoboszlai's magnificent spot-kick thundered into the back of the net with the final meaningful kick of the game, giving the visitors a point to take back to Merseyside.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/aston-villa-W00wmLO0/brighton-2XrRecc3/?mid=Mkz9mcpL"]Check out the full match stats here[/a][/b].[/p][infobox id="8a8311c3-81b3-440e-8b49-36091db073d1" /]