The fact that 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha scored the last-minute winner for Liverpool in Newcastle on Monday was fitting for the game—and was no coincidence. Florian Wirtz, on the other hand, disappointed.
Rio Ngumoha – just like Harvey Elliott – was actually supposed to come on much earlier. But because his teammates simply couldn’t keep Newcastle United away from their own goal in extra time, despite having a man advantage, and found themselves facing one set piece after another, the 16-year-old had to wait until the 96th minute on Monday evening to make his Premier League debut. It was enough for him to make history.
Five minutes later, Ngumoha converted a low cross from Mohamed Salah, which Dominik Szoboszlai had cleverly flicked on, to seal a 3-2 win and become the youngest goalscorer in LFC history, four days before his 17th birthday. In the Premier League, only James Vaughan (16 years, 270 days; for Everton in April 2005), James Milner (16 years, 356 days; for Leeds in December 2002) and Wayne Rooney (16 years, 360 days; for Everton in October 2002), with Rooney being the only one to also score the winning goal.
Nguhoma already shone in the preseason, especially against Bilbao
Ngumoha’s teammates rushed onto the pitch to celebrate with him, and then they made sure the visiting fans could celebrate him too. Captain Virgil van Dijk spoke of a “dream debut,” while coach Arne Slot called it a “great goal for a 16-year-old.” “Rio has such a strong finish for his age. I heard someone in the dressing room say he would have taken the ball again, but Rio is so confident.”
Even though van Dijk advised Ngumoha to enjoy the moment because “you can’t take nights like this for granted in his position,” it didn’t come as a complete surprise. Ngumoha had already caused a stir in pre-season, including with a solo goal against Athletic Bilbao. It seemed only a matter of time before the London-born player would show his skills in a competitive match, and it took him exactly five minutes to do so. Chelsea FC, who lost Ngumoha to the Reds a year ago under murky circumstances, must have been particularly annoyed.
And it was fitting for a game in which Slot, amid all the “chaos,” wasn’t sure “if it was a soccer game.” Spurred on by a seething, “so loud” (Slot) atmosphere, the Magpies caused Liverpool plenty of problems with lots of long balls, even though their most important offensive player, Anthony Gordon, had been sent off in the first half.
Pale Wirtz punished
Florian Wirtz also struggled, receiving the second-worst rating after Ibrahima Konaté from the Liverpool Echo, the Reds’ in-house newspaper. The Premier League’s record signing was substituted in the 80th minute with the score at 2-1 to Liverpool. “The fact that we remained strong for so long in this atmosphere means more to me than if we played out the back every time and won 4-0 or 5-0,” said Slot, who was nevertheless thrilled with his team. In addition to Ngumoha and defensive boss van Dijk, he was able to rely above all on Szoboszlai, who was thoroughly convincing in the completely unfamiliar role of right-back.
And so, despite two mixed performances, Liverpool are sitting pretty with a perfect six points; as van Dijk said about Ngumoha: “This is just the beginning.” The captain said he was sure that his young colleague “will have another tough training session tomorrow.”
