On-loan Liverpool defender Ifeanyi Ndukwe had the final say in a madcap six-goal thriller between Levante and Sevilla in LaLiga on Monday night.
The 18-year-old was one of the Reds’ breakthrough stars in pre-season over the summer, but he’s been loaned out to the Spanish top flight as he didn’t qualify for a UK work permit for the 2026/27 campaign.
He’s since met the threshold to play competitively in England from January onwards, should his parent club choose to recall him, and he made his first start for Los Azulgranas as they hosted the seven-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners last night.
Ndukwe rescues Levante with last-gasp leveller
Sevilla were on course for a 2-1 win going into stoppage time before the home side drew level. The visitors then retook the lead in the 95th minute, but there was still time for one final twist at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia.
In the 10th minute of added time, away goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos pulled off two saves in quick succession but was powerless to stop Ndukwe from steering a loose ball into the net to cap a mayhemic finish to an eventual 3-3 draw.
Ndukwe benefitting from loan move away from Liverpool
Even though he excelled for Liverpool in pre-season, realistically the Austrian would’ve found game-time difficult to come by had he remained at Anfield, with Virgil van Dijk and Jeremy Jacquet now firmly established as a centre-back partnership.
Ndukwe might’ve had to wait until last night for his first start for Levante, but he was in the right place at the right time to salvage a point for his side and, as seen in the figures below for Sofascore, he enjoyed a largely positive performance overall.
| Passes completed | 73/81 (90% success) |
| Duels won | 6 |
| Clearances | 5 |
| Blocks | 2 |
| Tackles | 1 |
His last-gasp equaliser spared his team from a third successive defeat and lifted them out of the relegation zone on goal difference, with the early signs indicating that the 18-year-old could be involved in a fight against the drop this term.
No footballer wants to find themselves in that situation, but experience of such adversity should stand to the youngster in terms of character building and maturity as a first-team player.
If Liverpool decide to let Ndukwe complete his season-long loan with Levante, let’s hope he enjoys regular starts for the LaLiga side and will return to Anfield with plenty of minutes under his belt.
You can view Ndukwe’s 100th-minute equaliser below, via Premier Sports on X:
A crazy end to the game! 🤯
A third added time goal makes it 3-3 as Ifeanyi Ndukwe finds the net 🔥 pic.twitter.com/zsV7hxcWnF
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) October 12, 2026