Liverpool produced a remarkable turnaround at Anfield, coming from 2-0 down to defeat Villarreal 4-3 in the Champions League. Andoni Iraola's decision to rotate his side and back youth proved decisive as the Reds recovered from a horror first half-hour.
Villarreal took a deserved lead inside four minutes when Virgil van Dijk's complacency gifted Georges Mikautadze an easy finish. The Dutchman attempted to head the ball back to Alisson but instead headed it up in the air, allowing the striker to slot past the Brazilian.
The visitors doubled their advantage on the half-hour mark when Sergi Cardona sent Alisson the wrong way one-on-one. Villarreal had played through Liverpool's midfield with ease, with Nathan Saliba finding space in front of the defence and rolling the ball through the gap between the centre-backs.
Iraola's Rotation and Youth Gamble
Iraola took the opportunity to rotate his side after a hard-fought win against Brentford on Saturday, with a trip to Brighton to follow on Sunday. Rio Ngumoha started on the right, Lewis Koumas through the middle, and Trey Nyoni in midfield.
Bradley Barcola, Alexander Isak, and Florian Wirtz were all rested on the bench. The depth available to the Basque boss was underlined by the fact that Villarreal's entire starting 11 cost less than Wirtz alone.
Despite the changes, Iraola stuck with his preferred centre-back pairing of Jeremy Jacquet and Van Dijk, but it was the latter's error that set the tone for a difficult opening period.
Mac Allister and Araujo Turn the Tide
Liverpool looked unlikely to score before the break, but a brilliantly flicked header from Alexis Mac Allister guided Kostas Tsimikas' corner inside the far post to halve the deficit. Despite his 5ft 9 frame, the Argentine is one of the Reds' best targets from set pieces.
Remarkably, Ronald Araujo sent Liverpool into the break level with the final kick of the half. Criminal defending from Cardona, who attempted to leave Ngumoha's cross to bounce out for a goal kick, allowed the defender to steam in and fire home from a yard out.
Araujo appeared to hurt himself turning in the equaliser and was replaced at half-time by Wirtz, with Gravenberch dropping into right-back.
Second-Half Dominance and Wirtz's Rare Strike
Liverpool emerged a much better outfit after the break, dominating proceedings and limiting Villarreal to no shots in the opening 15 minutes of the half. Their reward came in the 65th minute when Ngumoha danced into the penalty area and squared for Mac Allister to smash in from six yards, with the help of the crossbar.
Just three minutes later, Wirtz scored his first Liverpool goal since April, drilling the ball into the far bottom corner from 12 yards.
Ngumoha's skill and trickery helped turn the game. If the 18-year-old can consistently produce a final product like today, he will soon become impossible to bench.
More lax defending from Liverpool made the final few minutes nervy after Tani Oluwaseyi knocked the ball past Alisson unmarked at the back post, but the Reds held on for a dramatic victory.
