8 duels won: BBC reporter awestruck by Liverpool wizard who was ‘a class apart’ v Villarreal
Liverpool fans need no educating about how sublime a talent Rio Ngumoha is at 18 years of age, but his performance against Villarreal tonight has been electrifying even by his standards.
The Reds’ night got off to the worst possible start after a Virgil van Dijk error gifted Georges Mikautadze the opener inside four minutes, and Sergi Cardona doubled the visitors’ lead by the half-hour mark.
However, the hosts had restored parity by half-time with goals from Alexis Mac Allister and Ronald Araujo, and the moment with which they completed the comeback on 65 minutes was spellbinding.
Ngumoha ‘a class apart’ for Liverpool
The ball was swept wide to Ngumoha, who glided past Cardona and surged into the Villarreal penalty area, evading the challenge of Juan Foyth before laying it off to Mac Allister to finish to the net.
Shortly before that goal, BBC Sport reporter Aadam Patel noted after another mesmerising moment from the Liverpool winger: ‘”Rio Rio” is the chant from the Anfield crowd. The 18-year-old has been a class apart this evening. Much better from Liverpool after the break.’
Ngumoha had Villarreal on strings all night
When Ngumoha was substituted in the 74th minute, he was given a rapturous reception by the natives in L4 and rightly so, with the 18-year-old turning in an obscenely brilliant performance.
Even when Liverpool were trailing during the first half and being cut open at the back, he was the one player who looked like providing a threat, terrorising Cardona with his unpredictable dribbling ability.
The figures below from Sofascore illustrate just how excellent the teenager was against Villarreal, not that anyone needed recourse to his numbers to ascertain that this was a sumptuous display.
| Duels won | 8/11 |
| Dribbles completed | 7/8 |
| Key passes | 3 |
| ‘Big chances’ created | 2 |
Lucy Ward described Ngumoha as a ‘livewire’ during Liverpool’s victory over LASK a week ago, and that noun doesn’t do justice to how magnificently he played tonight.
With each passing game, one can understand why the Reds were so determined to snap him up from Chelsea’s academy two years ago. This kid really is something special to watch.
You can view Ngumoha’a assist for Mac Allister below, via @primevideosport on X:
