In Monday’s exciting 3-2 victory over Newcastle United at St James’ Park, Rio Ngumoha, a young player for Liverpool, followed in Wayne Rooney’s footsteps by scoring the game-winning goal in the 100th minute.
Hugo Ekitike and Ryan Gravenberch scored goals after Anthony Gordon was sent off, giving the Reds hope for a stress-free evening at St. James’ Park.
Newcastle deserves praise for their valiant comeback despite being shorthanded in players. Bruno Guimaraes cut the lead before William Osula equalised in the 88th minute.
However, Ngumoha came off the bench to steal all three points with a thrilling winner in the tenth minute of stoppage time, just as Newcastle believed they had salvaged a point.
16-year-old Rio Ngumoha wins all three points at the death for Liverpool! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/85jkiAfCrE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 25, 2025
Ngumoha replicates Rooney’s feat with late winner.
After scoring his first senior goal, Ngumoha became a member of an elite group that included Wayne Rooney, a former forward for Manchester United and England.
Following Rooney’s 2002 victory over Arsenal, the young player became the second 16-year-old to score a game-winning goal in the Premier League.
At Goodison Park, Rooney famously came off the bench to score a long-range goal that went over David Seaman and in off the underside of the crossbar, capping a historic 2-1 victory over Arsene Wenger’s team.
Rooney scored his famous goal against the Gunners just one day older than Ngumoha, who was 16 years and 361 days old at the time.
Ngumoha is currently the fourth-youngest goal scorer in Premier League football history, following James Vaughan, Rooney, and James Milner.
Liverpool have the same goalscoring history.
After drawing a blank in a 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest in September 2024, Liverpool has scored in each of their last 36 Premier League games.
The Reds have now equalled their greatest scoring run in Premier League games, matching their 36-game scoring streak from March 2019 to February 2020.
On the first day of the season, Arne Slot’s team defeated Bournemouth 4–2, and they have now scored seven goals in their first two games.
On Sunday, the Reds will host prospective title rivals Arsenal at Anfield with the goal of making the most of their firepower.
