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Last August, it was Darwin Nunez who lost his head. A year on, as Liverpool’s captain and vice-captain led by the wrong sort of example and as they threatened to unravel at Newcastle, Nunez served as rescuer. A man down, a goal down, almost two adrift, a first loss in 14 league games beckoned for Liverpool. Enter Nunez, the £64m afterthought, the player sent off on his Anfield debut for headbutting Joachim Andersen. Now the fifth-choice forward, he clinched an improbable comeback; a swift brace turned a damaging setback into a seminal victory. Suddenly, the more costly of two meltdowns was Newcastle’s. They contrived to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. They can reflect on two moments to transform the mood at St James’ Park and the feel of their start to the season. The first, when Diogo Jota’s pass bounced off Sven Botman and Nunez drilled a shot past Nick Pope. The second, when Bruno Guimaraes lost the ball, Mohamed Salah provided a slide-rule pass and Nunez again turned executioner. His finishing can be erratic but twice it was unerring: this was what Liverpool paid what could become a club-record fee for. As it is, their record buy had long since departed: Virgil van Dijk, often the cool cat of defending, turned into a raging bull when he saw red. His choice of words to referee John Brooks and fourth official Craig Pawson may add to his sanction. And yet, on the day, it was Newcastle who were punished. The scale of the missed opportunity was huge: they finished the game facing Liverpool’s fourth- and fifth-choice centre-backs, with Jarell Quansah making a debut in the final stages. He was not the most significant substitute – that mantle rested with Nunez – but Liverpool won 2-0 with the rookie on the pitch. Indeed, they triumphed 2-0 in the time after Van Dijk’s dismissal. Newcastle twice almost doubled their lead, Alisson making a superb save to turn Miguel Almiron’s volley against the crossbar and then the Paraguayan striking the upright again after a mesmeric solo run. And yet they lost their impetus in the second half; Liverpool had mislaid their composure before the break and regained it as the game went on, leading to a credibility defying climax. The early excellence of Anthony Gordon became in vain, an Evertonian suffering his latest defeat to Liverpool. For Newcastle, Klopp’s side remain the final frontier: they have had flagship results against virtually everyone else but they have now suffered five home league defeats under Eddie Howe: three of them to Liverpool. This was the most illogical triumph of them all. It had shaped up as a chastening afternoon for the men promoted to replace the departed Jordan Henderson and James Milner. The new skipper Van Dijk was sent off, though only after his deputy, Trent Alexander-Arnold, could have been. Instead, his enduring presence on the pitch benefited Newcastle when his error allowed Gordon to open the scoring. The centre-back had one tackle to rue – or seethe about, given his reaction when he saw red; the right-back had a different kind of torment, failing his trial by Gordon. Alexander-Arnold could have been dismissed after six minutes: unfortunate to be cautioned, he was then fortunate to avoid a second yellow card. A blatant check on Gordon was a bookable offence, but he had already had his name taken. Gordon was a waspish irritant but he is an irregular scorer. Just the ninth goal of his senior career came with an unlikely provider. Salah was to add to his surfeit of assists for Liverpool. He inadvertently provided a goal for Newcastle, overhitting a pass to Alexander-Arnold. The right-back should still have controlled it: instead, it rolled away from him, into the path of Gordon, who slotted a shot past Alisson. Kissing the Newcastle badge may have gone down badly with both halves of Merseyside. He may yet prove popular on Tyneside, however. The agent provocateur proved he can play. This was the best performance of his brief Newcastle career and he supplied the pass to Alexander Isak when the striker was challenged by Van Dijk. The Dutchman argued he got the ball; referee Brooks thought he went through the striker first, rendering it a goalscoring opportunity. Exit – eventually, after his protests – Van Dijk, and Liverpool’s chances seemingly disappeared with him. Yet a second half offered a second chance. Liverpool were reconfigured in a 4-4-1 formation. Klopp’s changes made an impact. Howe may regret his own substitutions, particularly removing Gordon. Freed from his clutches, Alexander-Arnold got a hint of redemption with a pass in the move that led to Nunez’s equaliser. And, after a chaotic game, Nunez, the agent of chaos, may have been a strangely fitting match-winner. 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Forgotten man Darwin Nunez came off the bench to fire 10-man Liverpool to a sensational 2-1 win at Newcastle as they staged a late, late show. Trailing to former Everton striker Anthony Gordon’s opener and at a numerical disadvantage following Virgil van Dijk’s dismissal, the Reds refused to accept defeat and got their reward when the £85million Uruguay international levelled with nine minutes remaining and then snatched victory three minutes into stoppage time. The Magpies were left to reflect on missed chances – Alisson produced a stunning first-half save to deny Miguel Almiron, who later hit a post – but Jurgen Klopp’s men scrapped impressively to ensure their unbeaten run against the Tyneside club extended to 14 games. Klopp celebrated wildly in front of the home dugout and on the pitch after the final whistle as the home fans among a crowd of 52,214 trudged away barely able to believe what they had witnessed. The visitors made a lively start amid a raucous atmosphere as former Magpies target Dominik Szoboszlai forced an early corner, and it was they who set the tempo as the game unfolded. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold left himself walking a tightrope after picking up a needless sixth-minute booking for kicking the ball away, and he was perhaps fortunate to escape further punishment after Gordon went down under his challenge seconds later. Newcastle keeper Nick Pope, who was sent off in the corresponding fixture last season, endured a testing start and he came for, but failed to connect meaningfully with two early corners, although as Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Almiron gradually worked their way into the game, the traffic towards his goal became less congested. Joelinton mustered the first attempt on Alisson’s goal, a reward for Guimaraes’ persistence, although the keeper was more than equal to the task, but opposite number Pope was extended much further to repel Luis Diaz’s near-post strike after a mazy 17th-minute run. Pope comfortably claimed Mo Salah’s curled 24th-minute effort after the striker had cut inside full-back Dan Burn, but Liverpool’s game-plan was torn apart seconds later. Alexander-Arnold mis-controlled Salah’s pass, allowing Gordon to steal in and race away before sliding a shot past the advancing Alisson, and worse was to come for the Reds when skipper Van Dijk felled Alexander Isak on the edge of the box three minutes later and was dismissed. Only Alisson’s brilliance prevented Newcastle from doubling their advantage nine minutes before the break when he somehow managed to claw Almiron’s stinging volley onto the underside of his crossbar. With defender Joe Gomez having replaced the sacrificed Diaz before the break, the Reds returned knowing they needed something special to force their way back into the game, but Gordon continued to terrorise Alexander-Arnold, and it was the Magpies who looked more likely to add to their tally. Almiron skied high over after Joelinton had surged into the penalty area before crossing, but with the 10 men largely sitting deep, Newcastle found themselves having to unpick the most steadfast of locks with midfield pair Guimaraes and Tonali the main protagonists. Szoboszlai and substitute Diogo Jota helped to ease Liverpool back into the contest as the home side were forced to defend, and although Gordon blazed a 64th-minute drive just wide of Alisson’s left post, it took a superb intervention by Sven Botman to prevent Salah from making the most of a delicious exchange with Jota. Almiron was unfortunate to see a 76th-minute shot come back off a post with Alisson beaten, and the Reds capitalised on that stroke of good fortune with nine minutes remaining when Nunez seized on Botman’s error to fire past Pope. With Newcastle pushing for a winner, the Uruguay international repeated the dose deep into injury time, running on to Salah’s through-ball to snatch an unlikely victory with a similar finish. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Steve Borthwick confident England will fix defensive issues ahead of World Cup Johnny Sexton regrets ‘mistake’ which saw him miss Ireland’s World Cup warm-ups Novak Djokovic says Carlos Alcaraz pushes him ‘to the limit’ ahead of US Open

Lewis Hamilton said he “paid the price” for Mercedes’ strategy blunder at the start of Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix. Following a first-lap downpour in Zandvoort, Mercedes were too slow to put both Hamilton and team-mate George Russell on the intermediate tyres. The poorly-timed stops left Hamilton and Russell – who was third on the grid – 13th and 17th when the order shuffled out. “We should have pitted, but we didn’t, and we paid the price for that,” said Hamilton who eventually crossed the line sixth as Max Verstappen claimed his ninth win in succession. “Today I had the pace, and I was on pace with Max, but we were just out of position. “I was pretty happy with my drive to back into the points. I got sixth. But it could have been higher, for sure.” Sergio Perez started seventh but assumed the lead of the race after he was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team on the first lap. With the rain still falling, Verstappen, quite rightly, stopped the next time round but Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions. Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns. “We should have come in, man,” said Hamilton over the radio. “It is very wet.” “Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.” But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. “I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?” Russell was classified 17th after he collided with Norris in the closing stages and sustained a left-rear puncture. “The race was over before it really got started,” said the 25-year-old Englishman. “The information we got about the weather was totally wrong. “We thought the rain would last a couple of minutes but it clearly lasted for longer. It was a real shame. A podium was missed. “As a team we need to review because we are getting the information coming into us and it was misjudging the weather. It is not anything to do with racing or engineering. It was just a weather misinterpretation and that ruined our afternoon. “So we need to look into that, to see why the others decided to pit and what information they had that we didn’t, and make sure we don’t make the same mistake again.” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “That was a difficult day for us. In the opening 15 laps, we got pretty much everything wrong that we could have done – and that cost us any chance of fighting for the podium. We will review thoroughly.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live How Max Verstappen equalled Sebastien Vettel’s record for consecutive race wins Max Verstappen reveals Sebastian Vettel prediction as he closes on GP record run Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in F1 history – Lando Norris

Christian Horner has hailed “untouchable” Max Verstappen as the best driver in the world after the Red Bull star overcame a chaotic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine wins in a row. Despite two separate downpours wreaking havoc at the beginning and conclusion of Sunday’s 72-lap race in Zandvoort, Verstappen delivered in front of 105,000 expectant fans to take the chequered flag ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with Pierre Gasly completing the podium. Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, slapped with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit-lane, finished fourth while Lewis Hamilton – who bemoaned his Mercedes team’s poor strategy in the inclement conditions – came home in sixth place. Verstappen, who has won 11 of the 13 rounds so far, will head to next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza 138 points clear in the drivers’ championship. There remains an outside chance he could complete his hat-trick of titles at the Japanese Grand Prix on September 24 with half-a-dozen rounds still to run. “Max is in a period of his career where he is just simply untouchable,” said Red Bull team principal Horner, who oversaw Vettel’s streak of nine straight wins a decade ago. “I don’t think there is any driver on the grid that would be able to achieve what he is doing in that car. “To win nine races in a row is insane, and it is something that none of us would have envisaged, and I never thought we would repeat it after we managed it with Sebastian. What we are witnessing is a driver that is generational. “Max has been in incredible form for the past three years, and the most impressive thing for me is all the pressure that he is under here. “With the expectation of 100,000 Dutch fans, a lot would have cracked under that pressure, but he kept his composure and delivered, as he has done so many times.” Come wind, rain or shine, 25-year-old Verstappen is the man for all occasions. On pole, he found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including team-mate Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres. But by lap 13, Verstappen – who at one stage was lapping his home track four seconds faster than Perez and two seconds quicker than anybody else – was back in the lead. His record-equalling feat was placed in doubt when the rain returned with vengeance with a dozen laps to go, and Zhou Guanyu crashed out, and the race was stopped. A 43-minute delay and six-lap dash to the chequered flag followed, but Verstappen denied Alonso any hope of taking his first win in a decade with an assured drive. He finished 3.7 sec clear of the Spaniard. As Verstappen ensured Red Bull’s unbeaten run remained, Hamilton’s afternoon was scuppered by Mercedes’ dithering following the first-lap downpour. Hamilton was not called in for wet tyres until the end of lap three with team-mate George Russell following in on the next lap. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell, who started third, were 16th and 18th respectively. From there it was a damage-limitation exercise for both men, with Hamilton driving well to take sixth place. Russell might have finished seventh but for a late duel with countryman Lando Norris leaving him with race-ending harm to his Mercedes. Norris crossed the line in seventh place. Read More Max Verstappen survives dramatic rain chaos to triumph at Dutch Grand Prix F1 Dutch Grand Prix LIVE: Race result and reaction from Zandvoort Max Verstappen reveals Sebastian Vettel prediction as he closes on GP record run Max Verstappen claims pole position at home Dutch GP as Lewis Hamilton falters Max Verstappen on top in wet final practice at Zandvoort Max Verstappen is one of the best drivers in F1 history – Lando Norris

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Local law enforcement on Sunday released the name of the white gunman who shot and killed three Black