Hugo Ekitike scored twice as Liverpool produced their most convincing performance of the season, coming from behind to beat Newcastle 4-1 and move past Manchester United into fifth place in the Premier League.
Arne Slott’s side have been criticized for a lack of flair in recent weeks, but there was no lack of style in their first league win of 2026, scoring more than two goals at Anfield for the first time since their opening night win over Bournemouth.
Ekitike was the main culprit, supported by Florian Wirths, currently the most prolific duo in the Premier League, with six goals in all competitions. Liverpool had to overcome an early setback after Anthony Gordon scored from open play for the first time in a year, but the rest of the match depended on the hosts’ attacking dynamism.
Newcastle were unable to keep up with the tempo as they were without key players Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton in midfield, and were powerless to stop Wirtz’s amazing dribbling as Ekitike looked to equalize just before half-time. Less than two minutes later, the 23-year-old collected Milos Kerkes’ ball down the line and fired a shot past Nick Pope.
Goal scorer Florian Wirtz celebrates with provider Mohamed Salah
Newcastle were running out of steam after a tough trip to the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain in midweek. Wirtz combined with Mohamed Salah to finish off the game with a superb third goal, before Ibrahima Konate scored a sensational fourth goal in the closing stages, returning to the starting lineup for the first time in three games since the sad death of his father.
Full of confidence, Liverpool overtook Manchester United at the top of the table and moved into fourth place, within points of Chelsea. It was the first come-from-behind victory since April. Meanwhile, Eddie Howe’s team unfortunately fell back to 10th place due to a series of troubles along the way.
Will vintage Liverpool return?
Analysis by Laura Hunter of Sky Sports:
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what this season’s ‘vintage Liverpool’ looks like. It’s such a pretense. Mainly instability and inconsistency. But it was a timely reminder of what Arne Slott’s team can do in free flow. Finally, Liverpool resemble something vaguely recognizable, with pace and a willingness to take risks and attack. There will be fewer shackles.
In recent months, many of those threat factors have been suppressed. Slott’s attempts at control robbed him of much originality, but he remained unbeaten in 13 games in all competitions until Bournemouth dashed any excitement with a last-minute 3-2 win last Saturday.
Liverpool needed to find the courage to start playing with fluidity again, especially at Anfield. They had to do so or risk losing their identity completely. Against Newcastle they were perfectly balanced despite Eddie Howe’s plans to punish with speed. After Anthony Gordon’s stunning opening goal, they were forced to bow to Liverpool’s wishes and were forced to finish at an elite level. The hosts earned 4 points from an xG value of just 0.92.
Hugo Ekitike was furious at the team he almost joined in the summer as Florian Wirtz continued to mock those who doubted his Premier League suitability. It may be too early to declare ‘Liverpool is back’, but the signs of improvement are clear. Slott hopes that confidence continues as he enters a crucial period of the season.
Hugo Ekitike has scored 10 goals in the Premier League this season and 15 in all games.
Slot: needed to block out outside noise
Arne Slot told TNT Sports:
“I’m proud. The first 30 minutes were a difficult game. There’s a lot to be said about the noise around the club. The Liverpool fans showed us what noise means. The players showed what we want to show and the fans were very loud. We had plenty of chances to make it 3-1 early in the second half, but 4-1 is a great result for us.”
“What I wanted after Bournemouth was to improve in both boxes. He scored 10 goals (including the 6-0 win against Qarabag) and conceded one goal in two games. Ibou (Konate) told me at the beginning of the week that he wanted to come back earlier than planned to help the team, and he did that today not only because of the goals, but also because he put in a great performance.”
Howe: The scoreline is tough for us.
Eddie Howe told TNT Sports:
“It’s really disappointing. 4-1 is tough for us. We started very well with a great goal, but we didn’t expect to concede like this. I have to give credit to Hugo Ekitike, but our organization is usually good and we’re not resting on our laurels. We let ourselves down in key moments of the game and we blame ourselves.”
“Our athleticism was strong. We may not have executed the set-pieces as well as we could have. 4-1 looks comfortable, but I don’t think it was for Liverpool.”
Regarding his away form, he added: “It’s been an issue all season. We can’t hide it. Ideally we would have played differently, but injuries limited our options. We saw some positive signs that could help us in the future.”
