Szoboszlai’s Injury-Time Penalty Rescues Liverpool in Wild 2-2 Draw at Newcastle

Dominik Szoboszlai buried a stoppage-time penalty in the ninth minute of injury time to rescue a 2-2 draw for Liverpool at St James’ Park on Sunday, denying Newcastle United a statement win in front of their own supporters and stealing the spotlight from Alexander Isak’s emotional return to Tyneside. The point extended Liverpool’s unbeaten run at St James’ Park to 10 matches, but it came at the cost of a two-goal collapse that exposed familiar cracks for the Merseyside club so early in the season.

The match had been billed as Isak’s reunion with the club he left last summer for a British-record £125m move to Anfield, but the Swedish striker was a peripheral figure for most of the afternoon, failing to register a shot on target and miscuing his lone clear sighting of goal. Instead, it was Newcastle’s William Osula and Yoane Wissa who caused Liverpool the most problems, with Osula setting up Anthony Elanga’s fifth-minute opener before Wissa’s clever ball sent Joe Willock through for what briefly looked like the winner.

A Wild Finish at St James’ Park

Elanga struck inside five minutes to give new Newcastle boss Mathias Jaissle the perfect start to his Premier League tenure, but Liverpool responded through Cody Gakpo in the 55th minute, the Dutch forward finishing off a Ryan Gravenberch assist to level the scoreline. Newcastle needed just two minutes to restore their lead, as substitute Willock pounced less than three minutes after coming off the bench to make it 2-1. Florian Wirtz had a deflected effort well saved by goalkeeper Lukáš Horníček earlier in the contest but otherwise struggled to impose himself on a chaotic, end-to-end match that stretched deep into stoppage time.

The decisive moment arrived in the ninth minute of second-half injury time when referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot after Lewis Hall brought down substitute Víctor Muñoz inside the area. Szoboszlai stepped up and drilled his penalty into the roof of the net, sparking relief among the traveling Liverpool supporters and sending Newcastle’s players to the turf in disbelief. It marked the second time in as many seasons that a Newcastle-Liverpool meeting at St James’ Park has been decided by a dramatic finish.

What It Means for Both Clubs

For Liverpool, the draw keeps an unbeaten run alive but raises early questions about a defense that has now conceded twice in back-to-back matches to open the campaign, and about Isak’s fitness and integration a year on from his blockbuster arrival. The Reds sit in the bottom half of the fledgling table on goal difference alongside Newcastle, with both clubs earning a single point from their opening fixture. Manchester City’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth and Brighton’s 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa mean the early pace has already been set elsewhere in the division, and bettors tracking Liverpool’s title odds may want to check the latest lines through a DraftKings promo code before the market moves further.

Newcastle, meanwhile, can take genuine encouragement from a spirited performance under Jaissle despite failing to hold on for the win, with Wissa and Osula both offering signs that the attack can function without needing Isak’s replacement to be a like-for-like swap. The result also keeps alive the psychological edge Liverpool has held at St James’ Park for a decade, even if it did not feel that way for large stretches of Sunday’s contest. Both sides will look to build on the outing as the Premier League season shifts into its next round of fixtures, with Liverpool eager to shore up a defense that has already shown cracks and Newcastle hoping to translate an encouraging start into results under their new manager.