Ngumoha inspires Liverpool’s 4-3 Champions League comeback against Villarreal

Rio Ngumoha set up two goals in Liverpool’s 4-3 Champions League comeback against Villarreal, earning the 18-year-old a standing ovation and UEFA’s player-of-the-match award. He did not score, but his performance helped turn a two-goal deficit into victory.

Liverpool were two goals down in a disjointed first half when Ngumoha began to shift the momentum. After Alexis Mac Allister had pulled one back, the winger chipped in a cross for Ronald Araújo to equalise. After the break, he beat Sergi Cardona and held off Juan Foyth before setting up Mac Allister to put Liverpool ahead. Florian Wirtz scored the fourth; Villarreal added a third.

Ngumoha completed seven of his eight dribbles and had 12 touches in the opposition box, BBC Sport reported. He was substituted in the 74th minute to chants from the Anfield crowd.

“It’s up there with one of the best [games] I’ve played,” Ngumoha told Amazon Prime. He said he believed in himself when facing opponents one-on-one and wanted to “be ruthless”.

The performance came more than a year after Ngumoha announced himself with a stoppage-time winner against Newcastle. He has since made his England debut, but has had to compete for minutes on the left, his preferred flank. Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola has also used him on the right, where Ngumoha said he had improved and felt increasingly comfortable.

Iraola praised the teenager’s attitude and progress, while cautioning that he was “only 18 and still not the full package”. “There will be ups and downs in the process,” he said.

Talks over a new contract are ongoing. Ngumoha’s current deal, signed in September 2025, runs until 2028; he said the negotiations were going well and were being handled by his agent.