Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Aug 24, 2026 3:39 PM
Lewis Koumas has spoken following Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Newcastle United at St James' Park, as he discusses making his first appearance in the Premier League for LFC, what Andoni Iraola told him before getting subbed on, Szoboszlai's late equaliser and more.
Should Lewis Koumas Get More Minutes and Opportunities For LFC?
Yes
0%No
0%Liverpool began their Premier League campaign with an opening day draw against Newcastle that, as always is the case when these two sides meet, had drama until the final minute.
However, as the Reds were trailing the game 2-1 with 12 minutes on the clock, Andoni Iraola turned to his bench and called upon 20 year old Welsh international, Lewis Koumas, to try and come on for LFC and make the difference.
REUTERS/Scott HeppellAnd while Koumas didn't net the equaliser himself, many have discussed his energy and tenacity on the ball when he came on as something positive to take from the game, and this is exactly what Reds fans were seeing during Liverpool's pre-season fixutres, so it is great to see Koumas translate that to elite level Premier League occasions.
After the game, Koumas was interviewed and asked about a range of different things, from making his Premier League debut for LFC to what Andoni Iraola said to him before he entered the fray, and here is what he had to say.
Lewis Koumas On Making His Premier League Debut
As prevously mentioned, this was a special occasion for Koumas and his entire family, and Lewis has now followed in his dads footsteps as well, as Jason Koumas (Lewis' Dad) also played football in the Premier League for West Brom and Wigan Athletic.
And Lewis Koumas spoke about the importance of his family in the journey he has been on to get to this point in his career, and the sacrifices that his mum in particular did in order to enhance his football career:
“This is the peak, it's quite emotional to be honest. Now that it’s finally happened, it just takes me back to the very first moments where it was my mum sacrificing absolutely everything to get me to any session I could be at.
I remember being at Crewe, being at Tranmere, and my mum was just doing everything. So ultimately it’s her to thank for being able to put myself out there and now we've reached this stage. It's just a happy family moment and I'm just really happy she could see it.”
Reuters/Lee SmithLewis Koumas On The Game Itself
Koumas went on to speak about the game itself, and highlighted the atmosphere and how that made it a tough game for the Reds, but he also commended the mentality and character of the Liverpool squad to come from behind twice to leave Newcastle with a point on the board:
“Yeah, it was quite an end-to-end game and we just needed a little boost at the end, and Victor [Munoz] got us the pen to equalise.
I think it's just a couple of counter-attacks. I think we can easily fix them and yeah, we'll look to do that in the week. It’s tough [here]. The atmosphere is tough to play in and I thought we coped well and then we showed character to come back and draw the game.”
Lewis Koumas On What Iraola Said Before He Came On & His Mindset Going Into This Season
Speaking about Liverpool boss, Andoni Iraola and his instructions before coming on for LFC in the final 10 minutes, Koumas explained how simple but important Iraola's instructions were:
“It was just to add energy, add runs in behind and try to make something happen – and then happily we did that in the end.”
Reuters/Lee SmithKoumas was also quizzed on his mentality going into Liverpool's new era under Andoni Iraola, and explains that while making his Premier League debut is amazing, he has high aims and ambitions personally going into his maiden LFC first team season:
“I think I can help impact games as well in this league. You know, it's nice to get my debut, but ultimately I want to go on and score goals and try to impact where we can finish in the league. So, yeah, we'll see what happens.”
Lewis Koumas On Getting LFC's Late Equaliser Against Newcastle
As the clock ticked over to the 96th minute of the game and it appeared that Liverpool were to fall to an opening game defeat to Newcastle, in the final attack of the game, Victor Munoz goes on a run into the box with the ball and gets brought down by Newcastle left back Lewis Hall, and the referee points to the spot.
Dominik Szoboszlai is the one tasked with beating the goalkeeper, Lukas Hornicek, and Koumas said what I believe many Liverpool fans also believe, if there is one player you want on a pressure last minute penalty, it's Dominik Szoboszlai:
“Yeah, it's what the big players are there for: we couldn't win the game so we find a way to get a point out of it and the characters have stepped up.
Dom’s took the pen and there's absolutely no saving it, it's a clinical moment and it's a good point on the road and we'll move on to next week. A pressure moment under the lights, you wouldn’t want anyone else on it.”
REUTERS/Scott HeppellLewis Koumas Looking Ahead to Nottingham Forest At Home On Saturday
And finally, Koumas was asked about the Reds returning to Anfield on Saturday as they take on Nottingham Forest in their first Premier League home game of the season and whether this Newcastle game can act as a 'stepping stone' for the team.
Koumas believes that this late equaliser can indeed act as a stepping stone for LFC and the players will be looking to put in a good performance for an expectant home crowd:
“Yeah, definitely. We'll be back at Anfield in the Premier League, so that helps itself with the home crowd. We're going to need them and we're going to look to put up a performance.”
Reuters/Jason CairnduffComments
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