Last August it was Darwin Nunez who lost his mind. A year later, with Liverpool’s captain and vice-captain setting a bad example and threatening collapse at Newcastle, Nunez served as saviour.

One man down, one goal down, almost two adrift, a first defeat in 14 expected league matches. liverpool. Enter Nunez, the £64m player was sent off on his Anfield debut for head-butting Joachim Andersen. Now the fifth striker, he landed an unlikely comeback; a quick double turned a damaging setback into a landmark win. Suddenly, the costlier of the two crises was that of Newcastle.

They managed to snatch defeat from the clutches of victory. They can think of two moments to transform the mood at St James’ Park and the mood of their start to the season. The first, when Diogo Jota’s pass bounced off Sven Botman and Nunez fired a shot past Nick Pope. The second, when Bruno Guimaraes lost the ball, Mohammad Salah provided a pass with a slide rule and Nunez became an executioner again.

Jurgen Klopp has now beaten Eddie Howe 11 times in a row in the Premier League, setting a new record for consecutive manager-over-manager wins in the competition.

Darwin Nunez is the second Liverpool player to come off the bench and score both the equalizer and the winning goal in a Premier League match, after Mark Walters in a 2-1 home win over Blackburn Rovers on December 13, 1992.

It is the first time in Liverpool club history that they have won three consecutive league visits to St James’ Park.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are also now unbeaten in their last 14 league games against Newcastle – they have won 10 or so games and drawn four.

Liverpool extended their Premier League unbeaten streak to 14 matches (nine wins and five draws) – the longest active streak in the league.

Liverpool match winner Darwin Nunez gave his reaction to Sky Sports, saying: “I’m very happy the team can help them.

“After losing a man, the team played very well. We work very hard for those moments and I’m happy to score those two goals to help the team.

Liverpool are now in the top four with seven points after the win. Even if the season only lasts three weeks, this victory could be crucial. It’s the difference between a good start to the campaign and a disappointing start to the campaign.

Newcastle have now lost two in a row – to Man City and Liverpool – which is not something Eddie Howe and his team would have hoped for after their win over Aston Villa.

Newcastle will wonder where this game went wrong. They had it in the bag and won 1-0 with a one-man advantage. The mentality of hanging on to this track was not there.

They grew weak in defense and allowed Liverpool to break through twice. Darwin Nunez was incredibly clinical today, scoring with both shots on target.

Jurgen Klopp shines and celebrates with Liverpool supporters. He will be as surprised by this return as everyone else.