--- title: "Newcastle and Liverpool drew 2-2 in a tribute to Kevin Keegan: Szoboszlai's penalty saved the visitors" description: "Newcastle and Liverpool drew 2-2 in the Premier League's opening round: goals by Elanga, Gakpo, Willock and Szoboszlai's stoppage-time penalty. Fans paid tribute to Kevin Keegan." date: 2026-08-23T18:28:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/newcastle-liverpool-2-2-kevin-keegan-tribute-premier-league tags: [newcastle, liverpool, premier-league, kevin-keegan, dominic-szoboszlai, anton-elanga] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Newcastle and Liverpool drew 2-2 in a tribute to Kevin Keegan: Szoboszlai's penalty saved the visitors ![Newcastle United players celebrate a goal in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/24/nyukasl-liverpul-2-2-tribyut-kigana-apl/nyukasl-liverpul-2-2-tribyut-kigana-apl-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Newcastle and Liverpool drew 2-2 in the Premier League's opening round at St James' Park. - The goals were scored by Elanga, Gakpo, Willock and Szoboszlai (penalty in the 9th minute of stoppage time). - Newcastle fans staged a tribute in memory of Kevin Keegan, who passed away in July 2026. - In Round 2 on 29 August, Newcastle will play Tottenham, while Liverpool will host Nottingham Forest. In the opening round of the new English Premier League season, Newcastle hosted Liverpool at St James' Park. The match ended in a 2-2 draw, giving fans four goals and an emotional performance by supporters in memory of the legendary Kevin Keegan, who passed away in July 2026. This is reported by [Sport RBC.UA, citing Newcastle's account on the social network X](https://www.sport.rbc.ua). ### Match flow: four goals and a tense affair Matthias Jaissle's side stunned the visitors as early as the 5th minute — Anthony Elanga scored. The first half was played in a tough vein: referee Stuart Attwell showed the opponents four yellow cards in the first half alone. The turning point came at the start of the second half: Cody Gakpo levelled the score, but Liverpool failed to build on it — two minutes later, Joseph Willock put Newcastle back in front. ### Szoboszlai's penalty saved Liverpool The home side's advantage could have held until the final whistle, but the Merseysiders rescued themselves in the ninth minute of stoppage time. Dominik Szoboszlai converted the penalty and earned his team a vital point in the first match of the new championship, denying Newcastle a home win. ### A tribute to Kevin Keegan At the first home game of the season, Newcastle fans paid tribute to Kevin Keegan, who played for the club from 1982 to 1984 and managed the team from 1992 to 1997. In 1978 and 1979, the player was awarded the Ballon d'Or. On social media, the club accompanied the tribute footage with the caption "A tribute fit for King" — "A tribute worthy of a king". ### Conflicting data On the final score and the scorers, all verified sources agree: 2-2, with goals by Elanga, Gakpo, Willock and Szoboszlai. A minor discrepancy exists only in the details: the original Sport RBC.UA text does not explicitly state the calendar date of the match, whereas the review on sport.rambler.ru records it as 23 August 2026 (the day before the current date). In addition, the surname of the third scorer is rendered differently — "Wilcock" in the main text and "Willock" in the Rambler review; both refer to the same player, Joseph Willock. The sources contain no significant discrepancies in figures or chronology. ### What's next: Round 2 In Round 2, Newcastle will travel to Tottenham on 29 August, while Liverpool will host Nottingham Forest at Anfield on the same day. It is also worth noting that Manchester City secured a hard-fought win in the opening round: Enzo Maresca's debut in charge of the "Citizens" was no easy one. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Under a performance in Keegan's honour: Newcastle surprised Liverpool in the Premier League's opening round](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/football/pid-perfomans-chest-kigana-nyukasl-zdivuvav-1787509456.html) - Первичный текст: счёт 2:2, голы Эланга (5'), Гакпо, Уиллок, пенальти Собослаи в компенсированное время; 4 жёлтые карточки в 1-м тайме; трибьют Кигану; расписание 2-го тура. - [Newcastle, Liverpool, Man City and the England national team expressed condolences over the death of ...](https://www.sports.ru/football/1117306540-nyukasl-liverpul-man-siti-i-sbornaya-anglii-vyrazili-soboleznovaniya-v.html) - Подтверждает факт смерти Кевина Кигана и реакцию клубов, включая «Ньюкасл» и «Ливерпуль». - [Liverpool escaped defeat against Newcastle thanks to a late penalty goal](https://www.sport-express.ru/football/england/news/nyukasl-liverpul-schet-i-rezultat-matcha-1-tura-apl-23-avgusta-2026-2449482/) - Подтверждает спасительный пенальти в концовке и итог матча 1-го тура АПЛ. - [Newcastle — Liverpool — 2-2, review of the Premier League's opening round, 23 August 2026, goals: Elanga, Gakpo, Willock ...](https://sport.rambler.ru/football/56950464-nyukasl-liverpul-2-2-obzor-matcha-1-go-tura-apl-23-avgusta-2026-goly-elanga-gakpo-uillok-soboslai/) - Фиксирует дату 23 августа 2026 и полный список авторов голов, согласуясь с основным текстом. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What was the final score of the Newcastle — Liverpool match in the Premier League's opening round? **A:** The match ended in a 2-2 draw. The goals were scored by Anthony Elanga, Cody Gakpo, Joseph Willock and Dominik Szoboszlai (penalty). ### Q: Who saved Liverpool from defeat and when? **A:** Dominik Szoboszlai converted a penalty in the ninth minute of stoppage time and earned the team a draw. ### Q: Who did Newcastle fans honour at this match and why? **A:** The fans staged a tribute in memory of Kevin Keegan, who passed away in July 2026. He played for Newcastle from 1982 to 1984 and managed the club from 1992 to 1997, and won the Ballon d'Or in 1978 and 1979. ### Q: When will the Round 2 matches involving Newcastle and Liverpool take place? **A:** On 29 August, Newcastle will play away at Tottenham, while Liverpool will host Nottingham Forest at Anfield on the same day.