Liverpool ended a poor Premier League spell in style as Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike inspired a 4-1 comeback victory over Newcastle United at Anfield, with the attacking pair combining again before Ibrahima Konate completed the scoring to lift Arne Slot’s side up to fifth place.
Anthony Gordon had earlier silenced Anfield by giving Newcastle the lead, yet Liverpool struck back quickly. Wirtz created the equaliser for Ekitike within five minutes, Ekitike then produced a composed second, before Wirtz added a third and Konate’s late strike confirmed Liverpool’s first league win after conceding first since April against Tottenham.
Since 20 December, when Wirtz recorded a first top-flight goal involvement for Liverpool, no Premier League player across
all competitions has matched the attacking output. Wirtz has produced nine contributions in that spell, with six goals and three assists, underlining the growing influence on Slot’s team during a busy mid-season schedule.
Wirtz and Ekitike are becoming Liverpool’s main attacking link. The duo have now combined for six league goals this season, more than any other pairing in the Premier League. Their understanding was clear again against Newcastle, with each movement and pass between them stretching the visiting defence and creating repeated problems in transition.
After the match, Wirtz highlighted Ekitike’s impact and importance. "He is just unbelievable," Wirtz told TNT Sports when asked about Ekitike, who has become the youngest player for Liverpool to reach double figures in a league season since Michael Owen in 2000-01. "You can see him today again two fantastic goals, and it is just fun to play with him on the pitch. Happy I could assist him again today after many assists from him to me. "
Wirtz also discussed personal momentum and confidence after another decisive display. "I am very happy. As I said before the game I always love to score and assist and help the team to win," Wirtz added. "I want to continue like that because it makes you happy and gives you more confidence. When you can help the team win it is always good. "
6 - Liverpool's Hugo Ekitik and Florian Wirtz have combined for six goals in all competitions this season, more than any other Premier League duo, assisting three goals each. Blossoming.OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 31, 2026
Liverpool Premier League response praised by Arne Slot
The result ended a five-match winless sequence in the league for Liverpool and Slot focused on the mentality shown after falling behind. He told TNT Sports: "I'm proud because I think in the first 30 minutes we had a difficult game and we went 1-0 down, but a lot has been said about the noise around the club and the Liverpool fans showed what they mean by noise. In the 15 minutes before half-time it was a great combination between the players showing what they did and the fans were so loud. At half-time all of a sudden we were 2-1 up and then in the second half we had more than enough chances to go to 3-1 earlier, but in the end 4-1 is a great win for us. "
Slot also linked the Newcastle performance to recent demands about both penalty areas. "I said to the players after Bournemouth that we need to improve in both boxes and we scored 10 goals and conceded just one [in the next two games]. " That return, combined with Wirtz and Ekitike’s numbers, highlights why Liverpool’s Premier League outlook has brightened.
