Liverpool edged Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield on Sunday, securing a third win in six days under head coach Andoni Iraola and moving to nine points in this season's Champions League group stage. The victory followed a 6-3 win at LASK last Wednesday and a 2-1 success at Brentford on Saturday.
The Reds trailed 2-0 early on before rallying, with goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Ronald Araujo, and Florian Wirtz sealing the points. Iraola made six changes to his starting lineup, and the team initially looked sluggish before recovering to take control.
Early Setbacks and a Rapid Response
Villarreal took a shock lead inside four minutes when Georgian striker Georges Mikautadze punished a slack header from Virgil van Dijk. Timed at three minutes and 54 seconds, it was the earliest Liverpool had conceded in a Champions League game at Anfield since Boavista in September 2001.
The visitors doubled their advantage when Santi Cardona slid past Alisson Becker after springing the offside trap. That finally woke the home side, with Mac Allister's glancing header from Kostas Tsimikas's corner reducing the deficit before Araujo headed in from Rio Ngumoha's cross with the final touch of the first half.
Ngumoha Shines and Wirtz Finds Form
Eighteen-year-old Ngumoha was a standout performer, beating two men before setting up Mac Allister for Liverpool's third after the restart. He left the pitch to a standing ovation, replaced by Bradley Barcola. The teenager said after Saturday's win at Brentford that talks over a new contract are his agent's job, but his displays are making a strong case for an improved deal.
Wirtz, a second-half substitute for Araujo, capped a fine individual display with a left-footed finish from Cody Gakpo's cut-back for his first goal of the campaign. It was an encouraging week for the Germany international, who added two assists and a goal in six days following criticism after the defeat to Manchester City.
European Form and What's Next
Liverpool have now won 24 of their last 28 group-stage games at home since the start of the 2017/18 campaign. Since the competition became a 36-team group stage in 2024, they have lost just three of 19 games, including a dead-rubber defeat at PSV in January 2025 and a 1-0 reverse at Galatasaray in October last year.
Victory in Turkey next month would allow Iraola to manage resources for the final four fixtures against Porto, Club Brugge, Inter, and Lens. With Manchester United and Everton on the schedule in late November between a trip to Brugge, the head coach is well placed to rotate his squad.
