Rio Ngumoha was the standout performer as Liverpool came from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield on Tuesday, maintaining their perfect Champions League record. The 18-year-old set up goals for Ronald Araujo and Alexis Mac Allister in a dramatic comeback that had the national media praising the teenager.
Teenage Sensation Steals the Show
Writing in The Times, Paul Joyce noted how Ngumoha outshone Liverpool's expensive substitutes. "One by one, they stepped off the substitutes' bench," he wrote. "First Florian Wirtz, then Alexander Isak and, finally, Bradley Barcola, three £100m-plus signings that Liverpool had intended to give the evening off."
"Yet centre stage truly belonged to the teenager Rio Ngumoha, who is proving one of the club's best investments in recent times and whose name echoed around Anfield with the mood having seesawed from one of despair to elation thanks to his work."
Andy Hunter in The Guardian echoed that sentiment: "The lasting impression was of Ngumoha seizing responsibility in the absence of big names and driving Liverpool on at the age of 18. The winger was electric, the difference maker, and from the right-wing role that he is still adapting to."
Speed and Power on Display
Richard Jolly in The Independent highlighted that Ngumoha was not playing in his preferred position. "Liverpool's comeback win against Villarreal had the feel of another night when Ngumoha took a sizeable step forward," he wrote. "Sometimes teenage talents have technique before they have the physique but it was notable how much speed and power Ngumoha showed on the burst to set up Mac Allister's second goal."
Sam Wallace in The Telegraph added: "There will be many more Champions League nights for Rio Ngumoha, although the 18-year-old will always remember this career landmark when his teenage skill plunged the opposition into fearful indecision and decided the game."
Wallace noted that while Mac Allister scored twice and Liverpool came from behind, "it all ended with a panic that meant they came close to chucking it away again." He added that Ngumoha "looks like one of the best young players in Europe" and is "a bona fide two-sided winger, winning this game for Liverpool from the right wing rather than his conventional left-wing role."
Wirtz Impresses Off the Bench
The ECHO's Paul Gorst focused on Florian Wirtz's impact after coming on as a substitute. "The Germany international enabled Liverpool to knit the play together better in the final third and his left-footed strike from Cody Gakpo's cut-back was just reward," he wrote.
Gorst noted that after the defeat to Manchester City, when the £116m playmaker was largely anonymous, "it's been a hugely encouraging week for Wirtz, building on his display at LASK last week with more of the same at Brentford and now Villarreal. Two assists and a goal in six days is a fine way to fire back at the critics."
He added that Iraola was right in his assertion that the number seven is overly scrutinised, but "these sort of performances on a more regular basis will only help change that discourse. Wirtz may just be finding his groove under his new head coach."
