Trent Alexander-Arnold saluted one of the best performances of manager Jurgen Klopp’s reign after helping Liverpool clinch a “very, very special” victory at Newcastle.

The Reds looked dead and buried at St James’ Park when skipper Virgil van Dijk was sent off three minutes after Anthony Gordon had fired the home side into a 25th-minute lead.

However, they escaped further punishment to make it to the latter stages of the game still only one goal in deficit, and ultimately emerged with three points after substitute Darwin Nunez scored an unlikely late double.

Alexander-Arnold told the club’s official website: “It’s unbelievable, to be honest. It was something very special out there today.

“You come here with a game plan, you want to dictate possession, you want to control the game, you want to try to kill the atmosphere as quick as possible, as much as possible because you know that’s a big advantage for them.

“But that wasn’t the case and we’ve had to do it the hard way, the very hard way.

“I think we have made it difficult, but out there we dug deep, we all pulled in together.

“It was something for the ages, to be honest, one of our best performances since the manager’s come in – and we’ve had some outstanding performances as a team, as individuals.

“But I think we’ll look back on this game as something very, very special.”

Things might have turned out differently for Alexander-Arnold in particular had referee John Brooks judged his sixth-minute challenge on Gordon seconds after he had been booked for kicking the ball away differently, but he survived that scare and the sternest of examinations at the hands of the former Everton striker to emerge victorious.

Nevertheless, it took a superb save from keeper Alisson to deny Miguel Almiron before the break and a post to keep the Paraguay international at nay after it, but forgotten man Nunez took full advantage with a superb double, levelling in the 81st-minute before winning it three minutes into stoppage time.

Alisson said: “You cannot underestimate [Liverpool], even in a game like that. But to be honest, even when we play against them here last season they had one player sent off and it was really hard to play against 10 men.

“When you play as a unit, you can do so many things on the pitch. You can make the pitch be smaller. With the quality that we have in the team, we can do so many things.

“We said in the changing rooms in half-time that we should believe, we’re going to have chances and we should believe that we are capable of doing something here tonight.

“We did it. This is one of a kind.”

Great Britain return from Budapest after a successful World Championships.

They won 10 medals – the joint highest in their history and level with the medal haul from Stuttgart in 1993 – and, here, the PA news agency looks at the talking points.

Britain’s golden girl

It was a true comeback story for Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who has been beset by injury problems since winning her first heptathlon title in 2019.
She was a strong medal contender but all the pre-Championships talk was about how Anna Hall would ease to victory, with defending champion Nafi Thiam out. Yet Johnson-Thompson never let the American, hampered by a knee problem, out of her sight – setting two personal bests – to reclaim her crown, proving her fight and quality a year out from the Paris Olympics.

Zharnel Hughes caps a successful summer

A bronze in the 100 metres was Hughes’ big moment and underlines his progress in a summer where he broke the long-standing 100m and 200m British records. He remained positive after fourth in the 200m but was clearly frustrated following another fourth in the 4x100m relay. Performance director Stephen Maguire knows the 28-year-old must now grasp his chance after his global breakthrough.

Agony for Asher-Smith

Dina Asher-Smith believed she was in PB shape, at least in the 100m, but a neural problem ultimately ended her medal hopes. A disappointing eighth in the 100m and seventh in the 200m saw her leave the Championships empty-handed having not run in the relay either. With women’s sprinting perhaps the best it has ever been, Asher-Smith will hope to resolve any issue quickly or lose vital momentum ahead of the Olympics.

Keely faces more battles ahead

The 21-year-old will be getting fed up of hearing other anthems while she stands on the podium. Silver at the Olympics, Commonwealths and now two second places at the World Championships will add fuel to the fire ahead of the 800m at the Paris Games. New champion Mary Moraa, Athing Mu – who won last year – and Hodgkinson will continue to battle it out in their fascinating competition.

King Kerr

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Josh Kerr continued the British domination of Jakob Ingebrigtsen in the 1500m as he emulated Jake Wightman’s win in Eugene last year. It sets up a mouth-watering clash in Paris next year between the two Edinburgh AC club mates and the defending Olympic champion. World Athletics president Seb Coe – a double 1500m Olympic champion – labelled Kerr’s win his best moment of the Championships.

Johnny Sexton admits the protracted disciplinary process which threatened to ruin his Rugby World Cup dream took a toll on his family but insists he is “not trying to play the victim”.

Ireland’s captain is unsure why he endured such a lengthy wait to discover his fate for “confrontational and aggressive” behaviour towards referee Jaco Peyper.

Almost two months passed between the fly-half’s heated exchange with the South African match official following Leinster’s 27-26 Heineken Champions Cup final loss to La Rochelle on May 20 and him eventually being hit with a three-match ban.

Sexton consequently sat out World Cup warm-up matches against Italy, England and Samoa but is available to start Ireland’s tournament opener against Romania in Bordeaux on September 9.

In the prolonged period when his punishment remained unclear, the 38-year-old, who is set to retire following the competition in France, faced intense speculation and public scrutiny amid calls for a substantial suspension.

“I’ve never seen another process last eight weeks or seven weeks, whatever it was,” said Sexton, who confronted Peyper on the Aviva Stadium pitch, having watched his province’s agonising defeat from the stands due to injury.

“It was incredibly frustrating not knowing what was going to happen. I’m not sure why it took so long, but that’s the way it was handled.

“I think when it affects your family you obviously go, ‘well, why are you upset?’ and (they reply) ‘this happened, this happened, this happened, this happened. Five weeks later, this is still happening’.

“Of course (you are aware of public commentary), but I’m not trying to play the victim.

“I made a mistake and I had to put up with what I had to put up with for seven weeks. You have to face up to your actions and that’s what I did.”

Sexton goes into his World Cup swansong having not played competitively since sustaining a groin issue in helping Ireland clinch a Six Nations grand slam against England on March 18.

His spell on the sidelines through injury and suspension means the 29-16 success over Steve Borthwick’s side was his final professional appearance in his homeland.

The 2018 world player of the year believes the “best guy in the world” meticulously plotted his road to recovery.

“For a kicker, to injure your adductors like I did is not ideal,” said Sexton, who was treated by a Doctor Griffin based in the UK.

“But thankfully the IRFU (Irish Rugby Football Union) sent me to the best guy in the world.

“He did a great job, he mapped it out for me and he was literally to the day accurate in what he told me in terms of when I could return to training, when I could kick a ball again.

“Thankfully it’s been good over the last number of weeks. Hopefully I will be in good shape come Romania.”

Ireland head to France top of the world rankings on the back of Six Nations glory and last summer’s historic tour triumph in New Zealand.

Andy Farrell’s men also face reigning world champions South Africa, Scotland and Tonga in their group ahead of a potential last-eight clash with either the host nation or the All Blacks.

Asked what gives him confidence of going all the way, Sexton replied: “What we’ve done over the last couple of years.

“I’ve been in groups before where you go to a World Cup and you say we’re here to win it but you don’t often have the achievements to back that up.

“(Whereas) we’ve got things like the grand slam, going to New Zealand and winning a series – stuff that other teams that have won it, like England in 2003 (have achieved).

“We’ve some evidence to give us a little bit of confidence but we also know that it’s the toughest group that we’ve ever had, the toughest quarter-final draw if we can manage to get through our group, so it’s all to do.”

Luis Castillo allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings and the Seattle Mariners held on for a 3-2 win over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday to take sole possession of the American League West lead.

Sunday's victory coupled with the Texas Rangers' 13-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins moved the resurgent Mariners one game ahead of slumping Texas and the Houston Astros atop the division. 

Seattle trailed the Rangers by 7 1/2 games in the standings on Aug. 15, but has now won 11 of its last 12 while Texas has lost nine of 10. The Mariners are an MLB-best 24-6 since July 25.

Castillo permitted just two baserunners in winning his fourth consecutive start and was supported by two home runs, a solo shot from Teoscar Hernandez in the second inning and a two-run blast from Julio Rodriguez in the fifth. 

Nelson Velazquez's two-run homer off reliever Gabe Speier in the eighth brought Kansas City within 3-2, but Andres Munoz struck out the side in order in the ninth to finish off the Mariners' sweep of the three-game series. 

Royals starter Alec Marsh struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings but allowed both Seattle homers to fall to 0-7 in 11 appearances (seven starts) this season.

Twins rally from five runs down to top reeling Rangers in 13 innings

The spiraling Rangers lost their share of the AL West lead after blowing a five-run cushion in a wild, 7-6 loss to the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins in 13 innings.

Minnesota trailed 5-0 after five innings before rallying to tie the game in the ninth, then took advantage of three walks by Rangers reliever Jonathan Hernandez in the 13th to push home the winning run.

Hernandez struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the 13th before walking Joey Gallo, Matt Wallner and Michael A. Taylor in succession to gift Minnesota its third victory of the four-game series.

Texas pitchers issued a season-high 10 walks on the afternoon, including one to Taylor by closer Aroldis Chapman with the Rangers clinging to a 5-4 lead with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Chapman was then called for a balk to send Taylor to second before surrendering a single to Donovan Solano that tied the game.

Royce Lewis began Minnesota's comeback with a grand slam off reliever Chris Stratton in the sixth that pulled the Twins within a run.

Jonah Heim had a grand slam off Twins starter Bailey Ober in the fourth inning that staked Texas to a 5-0 lead. The Rangers opened the scoring on J.P. Martinez's solo homer in the second.

Dylan Floro earned the win by stranding two Texas runners after coming on in the top of the 13th, while Dallas Keuchel tossed five scoreless innings after relieving Ober to start the fifth.

Brewers blast Padres to extend winning streak to eight games

The National League's hottest team resides in Milwaukee, where the Brewers used a seven-run sixth inning to rally to a 10-6 victory over the San Diego Padres and extend their season-high winning streak to eight games.

William Contreras went 2 for 4 with a homer and two RBIs, while Sal Frelick drove in three runs as the NL Central-leading Brewers completed a three-game sweep heading into an important three-game road series with the division-rival Chicago Cubs.

Milwaukee owns a four-game lead on second-place Chicago, which kept pace with Sunday's 10-1 rout of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Brewers trailed 4-2 before loading the bases with one out in the sixth in front of Rowdy Tellez's pinch-hit, two-run double off Steven Wilson, who later walked Carlos Santana with the bases full to force in the go-ahead run.

Frelick followed with a two-run double off Nick Martinez to stretch the lead to 7-4 before Mark Canha capped the big inning with a two-run single.

Bryse Wilson recorded the win with four scoreless innings in relief of Brewers starter Adrian Houser, who lasted just two innings and allowed four runs.

Gary Sanchez went 2 for 4 with a two-run homer to lead San Diego, which dropped to a season-high nine games under .500 at 61-70.

Simone Biles has claimed a record eighth all-around US Championship less than a month after ending a two-year break from gymnastics.

The 19-time world champion, 26, claimed the record-breaking crown – 10 years after winning her first – as she posted a total of 118.40, four clear of runner-up Shilese Jones, in San Jose, California.

Biles returned to competition in Chicago earlier this month after suffering from “the twisties” – a phenomenon which affects an athlete’s spatial awareness – and withdrawing from five of her six finals at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 to focus on her mental health.

The seven-time Olympic medallist became the oldest female US champion since the event was first organised by USA Gymnastics in 1963.

She is expected to bid to add to her haul of 25 World Championship medals in Antwerp in September.

Biles has not confirmed whether she plans to compete at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, who has battled a mystery kidney issue for much of the year, performed strongly on the beam and could head to Antwerp as a specialist on the apparatus.

Norway’s Viktor Hovland held off a determined challenge from Xander Schauffele in the final round of the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup title and 18million US dollar (£14.1million) first prize.

Hovland, who won the BMW Championship seven days ago, carded a bogey-free closing 63 at East Lake to finish 27 under par, five shots ahead of Schauffele, who returned a superb 62.

The 25-year-old began the day with a six-shot lead and, following a delay of almost two hours due to the threat of lightning, maintained that advantage as both he and Schauffele covered the first six holes in four under par.

Schauffele also birdied the eighth to be out in 30 and picked up further shots on the 11th and 12th to get within three of the lead, a lead which looked set to shrink even further when Hovland hit a poor chip to the 14th.

However, Hovland holed from 23 feet to save par and then made his first birdie since the sixth on the 16th to effectively seal a win which was quickly celebrated by Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald.

“I walked 3 matches with Viktor at the last Ryder Cup,” Donald wrote on Twitter.

“He was great tee to green but his short game and putting let him down. He told me he wasn’t clutch enough. Well he’s about as clutch as they come now. What a year, what a finish, what a guy! Fedex Cup Champ.”

US Open champion Wyndham Clark finished third on 16 under with Rory McIlroy, who had been hampered by a back injury all week, carding a closing 65 to finish fourth on 14 under.

“As the week went on it got looser and today it was pretty close to 100 per cent,” McIlroy told Sky Sports.

“I wish I had felt like this the rest of the week but even without a bad back I’m not sure I’d have been able to hang with the two guys in front.

“Another solid week, my game is where it needs to be and as long as I stay healthy for the next few weeks I’m excited to get back to Europe, play in Ireland and at Wentworth and ultimately get my game in shape for the Ryder Cup.”

The United States will be bidding to retain the Ryder Cup after enjoying a record 19-9 victory two years ago and McIlroy told reporters: “There’s a lot of us that were in that team at Whistling Straits and that didn’t feel very nice, didn’t feel good.

“So, yeah, I’m excited to get back over to Europe. We’re all sort of making our way over to Europe a couple weeks early. So it will be nice to all get together, get some early team dinners before the week in Rome and sort of really feel like that sort of team chemistry is starting already.

“We’re all, for the most part, playing really good. There’s still a few weeks to go, but it’s the next big thing in all of our calendars.”

Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham’s unbroken stand of 127 helped the Oval Invincibles fight back from a poor start to claim their first men’s Hundred title with a 14-run victory over the Manchester Originals.

The Invincibles were in trouble after being reduced to 34 for five with England stars Jason Roy and Sam Curran out for ducks.

However, Neesham and Tom Curran rallied as they combined to add 127 off 65  balls and set a challenging total of 161 for five.

The Originals made an indifferent start as Phil Salt was caught by Sam Curran off brother Tom and Manchester scored just 14 runs as a further three wickets fell, with Jos Buttler, Wayne Madsen and Laurie Evans all dismissed.

Max Holden tried to keep their hopes alive with a spirited 37 before falling to Sam Curran as the Invincibles ensured Manchester fell to a second successive final defeat.

The Aston Villa team bus was damaged after being attacked on the motorway following the side’s victory at Burnley on Sunday, police have confirmed.

A brick was thrown at the windscreen from a footbridge on the M65 in Lancashire as the Villa team began their journey home from Turf Moor.

Nobody was hurt but the matter is being investigated by Lancashire Police and Burnley have said they are “saddened and dismayed” by the incident.

Superintendent Melita Worswick, of Lancashire Police, said: “This incident occurred when a great deal of traffic was leaving the area following the football match between Burnley and Aston Villa.

“It is nothing but good fortune that the brick didn’t cause more damage, or result in somebody being seriously injured or even killed.

“We cannot say at this point whether this was a targeted attack but enquiries are ongoing and this will form part of our investigation.

“We are now determined to find the person or people responsible and are asking for anyone with information to get in touch.”

The incident is a further embarrassment for Burnley after Manchester City’s Rico Lewis was struck by an object thrown from the crowd in the season-opening match at Turf Moor earlier this month. Play was also halted briefly during that game due to a pitch invader.

A statement from the club read: “Burnley Football Club are saddened and dismayed to learn about an attack on the Aston Villa team bus at junction 10 of the M65 after today’s match.

“Having spoken with Villa we are relieved to hear nobody was hurt in the incident. We strongly condemn this behaviour and will support Lancashire Police in their efforts to find whoever was responsible.”

Promoted Burnley were beaten 3-1 by Villa in what was their second Premier League match of the campaign. They are yet to collect a point.

Harry Kane scored twice on his home Bundesliga debut for Bayern Munich as the German champions beat Augsburg 3-1 on Sunday.

The England captain put Bayern into a 2-0 half-time lead with a 40th-minute penalty at the Allianz Arena before claiming his second of the game after 69 minutes.

Bayern had initially gone in front when Felix Uduokhai inadvertently diverted into his own net after a Leroy Sane shot rebounded off a post. Dion Beljo scored the visitors’ late consolation.

Kane’s goals rounded off a great week days after the striker’s wife gave birth to the couple’s fourth child.

“Scoring goals is the main reason I’m here and it’s great to get a couple today,” said Kane in a post-match TV interview.

“I had another chance I could have scored but, overall, I am delighted with the result and to have contributed as well.”

Elsewhere, 10-man Frankfurt snatched a 1-1 draw at Mainz with an injury-time equaliser from Omar Marmoush. Ansgar Knauff had been sent off just after the hour.

In Spain, LaLiga champions Barcelona fought back from 3-2 down to claim a dramatic 4-3 victory at Villarreal.

Barca had led 2-0 early on after strikes from Gavi and Frenkie de Jong but they were stunned when the hosts hit back to lead at the Ceramica Stadium through Juan Foyth, Alexander Sorloth and Alex Baena.

The Catalan giants were not to be denied, however, as substitute Ferran Torres levelled the contest after 68 minutes and Robert Lewandowski secured the points three minutes later.

Nacho Vidal scored an injury-time winner as Osasuna grabbed a 2-1 win at Valencia. Hugo Duro had looked like claiming a point for the hosts at the Mestalla when he cancelled out Aimar Oroz’s first-half penalty 10 minutes from time.

Reims maintained their unbeaten start in Ligue 1 as they climbed to third with a 3-1 win at Montpellier. Teddy Teuma struck twice with Yunis Abdelhamid also on the scoresheet.

Clermont remain without a point after a 1-0 home loss to Metz.

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson insisted it is only a matter of time before she ends her silver streak with gold.

The 21-year-old was beaten to 800 metres gold at the World Championships by Kenya’s Mary Moraa in Budapest, just 13 months after she also finished second in Eugene.

Hodgkinson’s silver was added to by two 4x400m relay bronze medals on the final day meaning Great British finish with 10 – their joint best at the World Championships, level with Stuttgart in 1993.

She clocked one minute 56.34 seconds with defending champion Athing Mu in third and GB’s Jemma Reekie fifth.

Hodgkinson had been beaten into silver by Mu at last year’s World Championships before Moraa took gold at the Commonwealth Games ahead of her.

Before the final the Olympic silver medallist admitted she owed them both and feels gold is within her grasp.

She said: “I wanted to come here to get gold but it’s another podium and consistency has been the word I’ve been using. It’s three silvers now so it should be at one point I’m going to get a gold, it’s just a matter of when.

“I’m happy with my performance, gutted I didn’t come out on top but it’s great to be up there with the top three in the world.

“Mary got the jump on us and you can’t really afford that with those two girls. It was a really good race from us all.

“It keeps me on my toes. I’m trying to keep the streak going where I consistently pick up medals. It’s that tiny one per cent so I’ll keep striving towards it.”

Hodgkinson was unable to match Moraa’s pace in the home straight as the Kenyan won in one minute 53.03s but at least overhauled Mu with 50m remaining.

The Briton added: “To be consistently up with the best in the world is all I want from my career. I did think I was going to come through on the inside. The line just came quicker than I thought it would.

“I gave it my all, like I always do. I don’t think I put a foot wrong. I do love it. I was really looking forward to it. I was really up for it. I really did believe I was going to win again – you’ve got to believe, that is half the battle.

“It is a different order to last year, who knows what order it will be next year (at the Olympics)?

“It’s an Olympic year – everyone brings even more of their A game than they usually do. There is no stone left unturned. Like I say, we’ll aim for gold again and see what happens.”

Reekie, who split from long-term coach Andy Young in March, was third with 200m left but could not keep pace in the home straight.

She said: “I am proud of the way I ran it. I was brave and I went out, it was probably just a bit hot in the first lap.

“I am proud of the way I ran this season. I went to Jon (Bigg, coach) in an absolute mess and our goal was always to run under two minutes again consistently. To be here in the final is exciting for next year.”

Later, the men’s 4x400m relay team of Alex Haydock-Wilson. Charlie Dobson, Lewis Davey and Rio Mitcham won bronze behind the USA and France.

The women’s squad of Laviai Nielsen, Amber Anning, Ama Pipi and Nicole Yeargin also claimed third in a dramatic finish which saw the Netherlands beat Jamaica on the line after a stunning run from Femke Bol.

Morgan Lake finished fourth in the high jump after a clearance of 1.97m.

Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson insisted it is only a matter of time before she ends her silver streak with gold.

The 21-year-old was beaten to 800 metres gold at the World Championships by Kenya’s Mary Moraa in Budapest, just 13 months after she also finished second in Eugene.

Hodgkinson’s silver was added to by two 4x400m relay bronze medals on the final day meaning Great British finish with 10 – their joint best at the World Championships, level with Stuttgart in 1993.

She clocked one minute 56.34 seconds with defending champion Athing Mu in third and GB’s Jemma Reekie fifth.

Hodgkinson had been beaten into silver by Mu at last year’s World Championships before Moraa took gold at the Commonwealth Games ahead of her.

Before the final the Olympic silver medallist admitted she owed them both and feels gold is within her grasp.

She said: “I wanted to come here to get gold but it’s another podium and consistency has been the word I’ve been using. It’s three silvers now so it should be at one point I’m going to get a gold, it’s just a matter of when.

“I’m happy with my performance, gutted I didn’t come out on top but it’s great to be up there with the top three in the world.

“Mary got the jump on us and you can’t really afford that with those two girls. It was a really good race from us all.

“It keeps me on my toes. I’m trying to keep the streak going where I consistently pick up medals. It’s that tiny one per cent so I’ll keep striving towards it.”

Hodgkinson was unable to match Moraa’s pace in the home straight as the Kenyan won in one minute 53.03s but at least overhauled Mu with 50m remaining.

The Briton added: “To be consistently up with the best in the world is all I want from my career. I did think I was going to come through on the inside. The line just came quicker than I thought it would.

“I gave it my all, like I always do. I don’t think I put a foot wrong. I do love it. I was really looking forward to it. I was really up for it. I really did believe I was going to win again – you’ve got to believe, that is half the battle.

“It is a different order to last year, who knows what order it will be next year (at the Olympics)?

“It’s an Olympic year – everyone brings even more of their A game than they usually do. There is no stone left unturned. Like I say, we’ll aim for gold again and see what happens.”

Reekie, who split from long-term coach Andy Young in March, was third with 200m left but could not keep pace in the home straight.

She said: “I am proud of the way I ran it. I was brave and I went out, it was probably just a bit hot in the first lap.

“I am proud of the way I ran this season. I went to Jon (Bigg, coach) in an absolute mess and our goal was always to run under two minutes again consistently. To be here in the final is exciting for next year.”

Later, the men’s 4x400m relay team of Alex Haydock-Wilson. Charlie Dobson, Lewis Davey and Rio Mitcham won bronze behind the USA and France.

The women’s squad of Laviai Nielsen, Amber Anning, Ama Pipi and Nicole Yeargin also claimed third in a dramatic finish which saw the Netherlands beat Jamaica on the line after a stunning run from Femke Bol.

Morgan Lake finished fourth in the high jump after a clearance of 1.97m.

Jurgen Klopp insisted he has never experienced anything like 10-man Liverpool’s dramatic comeback win at Newcastle in his long managerial career.

The Reds were trailing 1-0 and were down to 10 men following skipper Virgil van Dijk’s first-half dismissal before substitute Darwin Nunez struck twice to claim all three points at St James’ Park.

Asked what the stunning comeback said about the spirit of his team, Klopp said: “Absolutely everything. In my more than 1,000 games as a coach, I never had a game like this, that is the truth.

“There have been other games, but with 10 men in an atmosphere like this against an opponent like this… It’s not that I can’t remember, I’m pretty sure it never happened because these moments are rare and super-special.

“But I thought the boys deserved it today because with 10 men, we played better and gave Newcastle a proper game.

“Three things were clear at half-time: Trent [Alexander-Arnold] cannot get another yellow card; we cannot concede a second and if that happens we have a chance, and that’s what the boys obviously did.”

Nunez had been introduced as a 77th-minute replacement for Alexis Mac Allister – who was sent off against Bournemouth last weekend before his red card was rescinded – with the Reds resisting Newcastle’s efforts to kill the game off, twice with the help of the woodwork.

The £85million Uruguay international endured a difficult first year on Merseyside, but he took his latest chance with both hands.

Klopp said of Nunez: “Everything will be fine, it is just maybe it had to be like this. If he hadn’t been that angry and started the game today, he wouldn’t have scored in the last six minutes or whatever.

“Let’s take it like that.”

As the game reached the 80-minute mark, the Magpies looked to be heading for victory courtesy of former Everton man Anthony Gordon’s 25th-minute strike, with Van Dijk having departed prematurely shortly afterwards, sent off for felling Alexander Isak on his way to goal.

Klopp said: “I don’t think it is a red card. There’s pretty much no contact, very little, but what can I say? The decision is like this and I cannot change it.

“Would I whistle in a training game? Definitely not, but there are reasons why I am not a ref.”

However, Nunez pounced on an uncharacteristic error by Sven Botman to level with nine minutes remaining and then repeated the dose in stoppage time from Mo Salah’s through-ball to clinch victory.

Magpies boss Eddie Howe, who had earlier seen Alisson Becker pull off a spectacular save to turn Miguel Almiron’s shot on to the crossbar before the Paraguay international later fired against a post, admitted his team had been made to pay for not being ruthless enough.

Howe said: “I thought we played really well today. The opening stages of the game can’t be forgotten by me in regards to the team’s performance and reflection on how the game went. I thought we were excellent, individual performances were really strong.

“The sending-off almost harms us, really, in the match, although the chances were there for us to kill the game and I think the second goal changes everything.

“We didn’t get it and when Nunez comes on, they’re looking for one moment – and they didn’t just get one, they get two and they took them.”