Darwin Nunez stepped off the bench for Liverpool to make a stunning impact against Newcastle, with the Uruguayan hitting a match-winning brace.
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South American frontman started among subsReds had seen Van Dijk sent offDramatic finish earned all three pointsWHAT HAPPENED?
Nunez has not always been the most reliable when presented with sights of goal since his big-money move to Anfield in 2022, but he showed Jurgen Klopp what he is capable of when helping Liverpool to take all three points from a game that was threatening to get away from them.
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Liverpool endured a tough start to proceedings at St James’ Park, with a costly error from Trent Alexander-Arnold gifting Anthony Gordon an opportunity to open the scoring. The Reds were then reduced to 10 men when captain Virgil van Dijk was sent off for a reckless challenge on Alexander Isak.
AND WHAT’S MORE
Nunez was introduced in the 77th minute to try and rescue something from the fixture, but he did much more than that. After restoring parity within four minutes of his introduction, a second stunning strike that nestled into the bottom corner was delivered in the third minute of stoppage-time.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Nunez’s double for Liverpool has seen him record his first goals since April – when he was on target in a 6-1 victory over Leeds. Klopp will be hoping that there is more to come from the £64 million ($81m) man as he begins to justify comparisons with Erling Haaland following their respective moves to the Premier League last summer.