Alexander-Arnold hails Liverpool’s comeback victory ‘for the ages’

Trent Alexander-Arnold has described Liverpool’s extraordinary comeback at Newcastle as “very special” and “one for the ages”.

Jürgen Klopp’s side were trailing to Anthony Gordon’s opening goal and were reduced to 10 men after Virgil van Dijk’s 28th‑minute sending‑off but two late goals from the substitute Darwin Núñez, the second three minutes into stoppage time, stunned Eddie Howe’s side.

“It was unbelievable,” Alexander-Arnold said. The England right‑back admitted he and his teammates did not make it easy for themselves. “We had to do it the hard way, the very hard way. We made it very difficult but we dug deep and it was one for the ages. We will look back on this game as something very special.”

Klopp was not about to disagree. “In my more than 1,000 games as a coach I never had a game like this,” he said. “Not with 10 men in an atmosphere like this, against an opponent like this. These moments are rare and super special. It was obviously pretty wild but I thought the boys deserved it.

“I didn’t think it was a red card, there was pretty much no contact but we played better with 10 men. My boys kept believing. If you play with passion you have a chance.

“Darwin was not happy to not be starting but I gave him a hug and encouraged him to try for the team. We need to create a new way to play football and Darwin can be a key part of that. His key strengths are exceptional.”

Although Howe believed that Alexander-Arnold should have been sent off a second bookable offence early in the first half, he conceded his second‑half substitutions had not been as smart as Klopp’s.

“In hindsight you would always do things differently,” said the Newcastle manager who withdrew Gordon, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali. “Sometimes when you make those changes it doesn’t go as you foresee.

“It was painful. We were excellent, very strong in the opening stages. We had the chances to kill the game but we didn’t take them. Liverpool had two chances and they took them.

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“We were better 11 v 11 than 11 v 10. It’s hugely painful, very difficult to take. But Liverpool are a very, very dangerous counter-attacking team. When you’ve got players like Mo Salah and Núñez on the pitch they are a huge threat in transition.

“Today’s a very difficult one for me. We’re kicking ourselves for not making sure we got something from the game. We shouldn’t have lost.”