The shot sailed wide of Peter Gulacsi’s top corner and into the Kop, affording Villarreal much-needed respite at 4-2, but for Andoni Iraola it was a standout moment in a scintillating Champions League display from Rio Ngumoha. To a coach who called for versatility from all of his wingers this summer, here was a significant step forward among many from the 18-year-old at Anfield.
There were questions over how Ngumoha would adapt to playing on the right even before Liverpool increased the likelihood by signing Bradley Barcola for £123m from Paris Saint-Germain. On his fifth start under Iraola on Tuesday, which his side won 4-3, Liverpool witnessed an answer: quickly, incisively and confidently. The teenager’s willingness to cut inside from the right and shoot from distance with his left foot captured Iraola’s imagination as much as the devastating run that created Alexis Mac Allister’s second goal of the game.
