Liverpool are three from three in the Champions League after Tuesday night’s 4-3 comeback win over Villarreal, and this morning the talk is all about Rio Ngumoha.
Andoni Iraola explained his team selection and his half-time switch, Alexis Mac Allister gave the head coach much of the credit for the turnaround, and there was no word of any new injuries after the game.
Iraola on Ngumoha
Ngumoha set up two goals and was named UEFA’s player of the match. Iraola said: “I’m happy with his attitude because he’s eager to improve the things that we think he needs to improve.” He added: “That’s the good thing with Rio, he’s still 18, he’s not the full package.” And a note of caution: “It’s not going to be always like this, he will have ups and downs in the process.”
Ngumoha told Prime Video it was “up there with one of the best” games he has played. “Whenever I get the ball and there’s an opportunity to go one v one or two v one, I believe in myself. I’ll just keep going and be ruthless,” he said. BBC Sport’s numbers back him up: he completed seven of his eight dribbles and had 12 touches in Villarreal’s box.
A rare comeback
It was only the second time Liverpool have won a European Cup or Champions League game after going two goals down. The other was also against Villarreal, when they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in Spain in the 2022 semi-final second leg.
Mac Allister credits Iraola
Mac Allister, who scored twice, told Prime Video: “Last season something wasn’t right in the group and this manager changed it, and that’s really important.” He added: “We are going in the right direction but we need to work and put in everything. Hopefully we can win some trophies.”
Asked about his contract, which runs to 2028, he said: “That’s their decision and it’s fine. I do my best and in the end, we’ll see what happens.” So nothing new there.
Why Wirtz, Isak and Barcola were on the bench
Iraola said he couldn’t risk Alexander Isak from the start so soon after his muscle injury, while Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola would have been making their fourth start in 10 days after a physically demanding game at Brentford. Wirtz came on at half-time and scored.
Ronald Araújo made way for him, but Iraola said Araújo is fine. The change was tactical, with Ryan Gravenberch moving to right-back to deal with Villarreal’s overloads in midfield and to give Ngumoha more support down the right.
Injury news
No new injuries were reported after the game.
Victor Muñoz missed out after sitting out Monday’s training, and the club still hasn’t said what the problem is. The injury website Premier Injuries lists a knee problem and has him as a doubt for Sunday, so treat talk of anything serious with caution until Iraola speaks before the Brighton game.
Dominik Szoboszlai is still out with the same injury that kept him out earlier this month, and Jeremie Frimpong isn’t expected back until after the November international break. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitiké and Giovanni Leoni remain sidelined.
Contracts
Ngumoha’s contract talks are still going on. His current deal runs to 2028, and both BBC Sport and The Athletic say Liverpool want to reward him with a longer contract on improved terms. Ngumoha said at the weekend that the talks are “going well” and in the hands of his agent.
There’s no credible ownership, FSG or investment news.
Transfers
Nothing new on Liverpool overnight from the likes of David Ornstein and Paul Joyce.
Fabrizio Romano, aka Rent-a-Tweet, said on his YouTube channel this week that Liverpool made calls about Bournemouth’s Alex Scott in June and July but never made a bid, that Chelsea are further down the line, and that Liverpool are tracking Monaco’s Lamine Camara. He says midfield will “100%” be an area of focus for Liverpool in 2027, whether in January or the summer. That’s interest, not a bid, so treat it as one to watch.
Liverpool.com and the Mirror are still repeating the pro-Barcelona paper Sport’s claim that Liverpool would pay €50m for Stuttgart defender Finn Jeltsch. There’s nothing new in it since we covered it on Monday.
Fixtures (UK times)
Sunday 25 October: Liverpool v Brighton, Premier League, 2pm (Sky Sports)
Wednesday 28 October: Liverpool v Chelsea, Carabao Cup fourth round, 8pm
Sunday 1 November: Liverpool v Arsenal, Premier League, 4:30pm
Wednesday 4 November: Fenerbahçe v Liverpool, Champions League, 5:45pm
