A 99th-Minute Penalty and Two Late Goals: Sunday's Pool Wreckers

Saturday gave us seven upsets in five leagues. Sunday decided its games in the last ten minutes instead. Three Premier League matches, and in two of them the result at the 80-minute mark was not the result that went into the table.

If you run a prediction pool, this was the weekend that separated the people watching from the people ticking boxes by reputation. Here is what happened.

Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool: nine minutes of stoppage time

The headline game of the day, and the most expensive box on any sheet.

Anthony Elanga put Newcastle ahead in the 5th minute. Liverpool levelled through Cody Gakpo in the 55th, and two minutes later Joe Willock made it 2-1 to Newcastle in the 57th. That is how it stayed until deep into stoppage time, when a foul by Lewis Hall on substitute Víctor Muñoz gave Liverpool a penalty. Dominik Szoboszlai converted it in the 90+9th minute (ESPN).

Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle called the decision “really soft.”

Think about what that does to a pool. Everyone who wrote “Liverpool win” lost the box. Everyone who wrote “Newcastle win” — the bolder call, and the correct one for 93 minutes — also lost it. The people who took the draw won a box that almost nobody else touched.

Manchester City 2-1 Bournemouth: Maresca’s first one

City were losing. Then they scored twice in the last ten minutes: Marc Guehi in the 84th and Josko Gvardiol in the 90+1st (AP via WSLS · ESPN).

It was Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League match in charge of City, following Pep Guardiola’s departure. He called it a perfect day, and for anyone holding a Bournemouth draw at the 83rd minute it was the opposite of one.

Brighton 4-0 Aston Villa: over by the half hour

The one game that was never in doubt — because it was finished early. Brighton scored four times inside the opening 31 minutes, with Jack Hinshelwood scoring twice in two first-half minutes. Villa were down to ten men when Joao Gomes was sent off in the 40th (same sources).

A 4-0 is only a shock if you did not see it coming, and nobody did: Villa were the stronger name on paper. That is three of Sunday’s three games going against the seeding.

The matchday is not over yet

Saturday’s results are worth keeping next to these — Hull City 2-0 Manchester United on their return to the top flight after nine years, Brentford 3-0 Tottenham, and Nottingham Forest 0-1 Leeds. The full list, across five leagues, is in Seven Upsets in One Saturday.

Matchday 1 still has one fixture left: Fulham vs Chelsea on Monday the 24th, per ESPN’s schedule.

What Sunday actually teaches you

• Draws are the cheapest edge in any pool. Two of the weekend’s biggest games ended level, and the draw is the box most people skip on principle. In a survivor format, a draw is even better than that — a draw keeps you alive, because you only lose a life on a loss.
• Late goals are not noise, they are the game. Three results changed after the 84th minute this Sunday. If your group scores exact scorelines, those minutes are the whole competition.
• New managers reset the form book. Maresca’s first league game with City went to the wire against a side City would normally brush aside. Preseason assumptions are still assumptions in August. The full season calendar is in the 2026-27 kickoff guide.

FAQ

What was the final score in Newcastle vs Liverpool?

2-2. Elanga (5’) and Willock (57’) for Newcastle; Gakpo (55’) and Szoboszlai (90+9’, penalty) for Liverpool.

Why did Liverpool get a penalty so late?

Lewis Hall was judged to have fouled substitute Víctor Muñoz in stoppage time. Szoboszlai scored it in the 90+9th minute. Newcastle’s head coach described the decision as soft.

Who won Manchester City vs Bournemouth?

Manchester City, 2-1, with Marc Guehi scoring in the 84th minute and Josko Gvardiol in the 90+1st. It was Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League game as City manager.

How did Brighton beat Aston Villa 4-0?

All four goals came in the first 31 minutes, including two in two minutes from Jack Hinshelwood. Villa’s Joao Gomes was sent off in the 40th minute.

Is Premier League matchday 1 finished?

Not quite. Fulham vs Chelsea on Monday 24 August closes it.

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