Rio Ngumoha’s contributions in Liverpool’s late victory over Nottingham Forest were enough to show that he deserves a first Premier League start.
The 17-year-old is a star in the making and has been carefully managed by Arne Slot this season, with the bulk of his minutes coming in the domestic cup competitions.
While no player of his age has featured more often in the Premier League, it’s clear Ngumoha possesses the game-changing qualities Liverpool need, especially as their bluntness in attack continues.
At the City Ground, Slot’s side struggled to create a meaningful chance until Ngumoha was introduced. His direct running and fearless approach finally gave the resolute Nottingham Forest back line something to think about. Not only were his tricky feet hard to read, but his end product was difficult to cut out, too. All the chaos in the game, including Alexis Mac Allister’s late chances and stoppage-time winner, followed Ngumoha’s introduction.
Now feels like the right time to finally let him off the leash.
Supporters certainly want to see it, with a strong sense in the stands that he’s been held back more often than set free. Never before has Slot called on the silky-skilled teenager before the 70-minute mark in a Premier League game, and in only five of his nine outings has he been given more than 10 minutes of normal time to make a difference.
Yet on two occasions now, he’s stepped up to prove he has the killer touch to be a game-changer.
The stoppage-time winner against Newcastle United in August was a high-profile introduction to life as a senior Liverpool player, and it was sensible of the club to look after him and manage his minutes in the months that followed, especially with experienced multi-million-pound internationals ahead of him.
Ngumoha has also represented Liverpool in every competition this season and in the three cup games he has started — against Southampton and Crystal Palace in the League Cup, and Barnsley in the FA Cup — he has performed admirably without standing out.
But it was this performance that showed what he was all about, as the former Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher, pointed out on Sky Sports: “He came on in the 77th minute and did more in 15 minutes than (Cody) Gakpo and (Mohamed) Salah had done up until that point. He needs more of an opportunity. He needs to be starting games.”
Rio Ngumoha comes on as a substitute against Nottingham Forest (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
When Slot was asked after the game about Ngumoha’s development, he replied: “He has incredible potential, otherwise at 17 years old he doesn’t play as many minutes in the Premier League, or at Liverpool. There’s not a 17-year-old in the Premier League who has had so many minutes. That tells you how much we appreciate him. He’s making more progress, getting stronger, and for him to show it at 17 says something about his talent.”
Slot followed up his thoughts by stressing that, like any youngster, Ngumoha still needs to build a rock-solid mentality to succeed at a club like Liverpool. He identified Mac Allister as an ideal example — the Argentina midfielder has struggled at times this season, but can grind out performances and was there to smash in the winner when it mattered most.
Ngumoha is raw and makes occasional mistakes, but he changed the game when Liverpool were lacking ideas, and that makes a difference. His brilliant wide play and cross into the box that set up Hugo Ekitike for the away side’s first real sight of goal on 89 minutes was almost defining. From there, Stefan Ortega saved superbly, only for Ola Aina’s clearance to cannon off Mac Allister and into an empty net, before it was ruled out for handball following a VAR check.
As Ngumoha continued to threaten in the minutes that followed, Mac Allister would not be denied a second time, latching onto a loose ball in the box to secure victory.
There’s a growing sense among the Premier League’s middle and lower ranks that however turbulent a season may seem for the division’s heavyweights, they inevitably find their footing when it really counts. Nottingham Forest witnessed exactly that with Liverpool in town.
For most of the game, Forest were the better team and more than worthy of the point they were about to secure. Then came an almighty, barely believable surge spearheaded by Ngumoha, and if the VAR intervention was the slice of good fortune Forest needed, what happened next summed up everything about the power of those towards the top.
For those in the away end, it was the ultimate euphoria: a late winner ruled out, only for an even more dramatic winner to stand on a day when their team had been second-best for large periods. It was Liverpool’s fourth-latest winning goal on record and their 48th in the 90th minute (or later) in a Premier League game — the most of any club.
For those in the home sections, it was the most painful blow in a relegation battle. They had watched their side limit an experienced, expensively assembled front line of Ekitike, Salah and Gakpo for the majority of the game, only to be undone in the most cutting of circumstances thanks to the fresh impetus provided by a 17-year-old.