'Like two heavyweights throwing haymakers at each other'

Three decades have passed since Liverpool edged Newcastle United 4-3 in a contest widely hailed as one of the Premier League’s greatest spectacles, yet the memories remain vivid for those who experienced the drama first-hand. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily, former Liverpool midfielder Jason McAteer, ex-Newcastle defender Steve Howey, the Anfield Wrap’s Ian Ryan and The Athletic’s George Caulkin joined presenter Alistair Bruce-Ball to relive the pulsating 1996 encounter.

McAteer recalled an atmosphere more reminiscent of a European night under the lights than a routine league fixture. “From the first whistle you could sense it wasn’t going to be a normal game,” he said. “The noise was incredible. Players talk about loving a Wednesday-night kick-off as summer approaches, and this felt exactly like that.”

With both sides seizing and surrendering the lead, the match swung wildly until, at 3-3, Stan Collymore lashed home a stoppage-time winner that sent the Kop into raptures and left Newcastle manager Kevin Keegan famously slumped over the advertising boards. “The game deserved a winner and it could have come from either team,” McAteer added. “It was like two heavyweights just throwing haymakers at each other and taking them, seeing who would be left standing. Fortunately for us, it was Liverpool.”

The adrenaline of the moment carried McAteer the length of the pitch in celebration. “I don’t know where I found the energy, but I ran straight across the grass and remember thinking, ‘We must have the day off tomorrow!’” he laughed. “I don’t think that match will ever be beaten. It was simply a privilege to play in it.”