How Rio Ngumoha, the ego-free wonderkid, announced himself to Liverpool – and the world

Hugo Ekitike wrapped his arms around Rio Ngumoha and lifted the beaming teenager off his feet.

The scene was repeated many times as Liverpool’s senior players embraced the match-winner who had written his name in the record books in such dramatic fashion on a frantic night at St James’ Park.

At the age of 16 years and 361 days, Ngumoha marked his Premier League debut by becoming the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history. That honour had belonged to Ben Woodburn since he struck in a League Cup tie against Leeds United aged 17 and 45 days nearly nine years ago.

Ngumoha had only been on the pitch for four minutes when he ruthlessly swept a first-time shot beyond Nick Pope to trigger wild scenes of celebration deep into stoppage time. He raced away towards the corner, leaping for joy and punching the air in delight before being mobbed by his team-mates.

Talk about changing the narrative. With the Premier League champions on the brink of a draw that would have felt like a damaging defeat, Liverpool’s new boy wonder stayed calm amid the chaos around him and coolly played their get out of jail free card.

“What a moment. Enjoy it,” Arne Slot told the teenager as the head coach gestured for him to soak up the acclaim of the away supporters in the top tier of the Leazes End after the final whistle.

No wonder Liverpool have repeatedly dismissed links with Lyon’s Malick Fofana and Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola so far this summer. They haven’t signed a left-sided replacement for Luis Diaz following his departure to Bayern Munich because they want to leave the pathway clear for Ngumoha. They believe he’s special.

“Rio can finish really well for his age,” Slot said. “How firm his shot was — you don’t see that often for a 16-year-old. I heard someone in the dressing room say afterwards: ‘I’d have taken that ball and had a first touch and then finished it off’. But he’s so confident, and that’s what I like.”

Rio Ngumoha celebrates his remarkable winner (Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images)

Credit to Slot, too, because not many managers would have thrown a player so young into such a hostile atmosphere against such a combative opponent with the contest in the melting pot at 2-2.

A tribunal has yet to decide how much Liverpool must pay Chelsea in compensation for Ngumoha, who left Stamford Bridge last summer because he felt he stood a better chance of getting first-team opportunities at Anfield. But it looks certain to be money well spent.

The England youth international is set to sign his first professional contract when he turns 17 on Friday and he’s certainly endeared himself to players and staff alike since lighting up the pre-season schedule. The feedback has been glowing — he’s keen to learn and there’s no ego. The potential is huge.

“It’s a dream debut for him,” captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports. “I’m very pleased for Rio. I’ve said to him: ‘This is just the start now’. He has to stay humble, but also enjoy it because these kinds of nights you can’t take for granted.”

Ngumoha bends in his winner (George Wood/Getty Images)

After speaking to club media on the touchline, there was a nice moment when Ngumoha was congratulated by Newcastle defender Dan Burn for the impact he had on the game.

If the glory belonged to Ngumoha, the man of the match was undoubtedly Dominik Szoboszlai. His versatility makes him such a big asset. With neither Conor Bradley nor Joe Gomez deemed fit enough to start and Jeremie Frimpong sidelined by a hamstring injury, Szoboszlai found himself filling in at right-back, and what a shift he put in.

Newcastle targeted him, but he stood up to the challenge against Harvey Barnes. His positioning was spot on as he dealt with all the danger that came his way. He won possession four times, with Curtis Jones (six) the only Liverpool player to beat that tally.

Then, when Bradley’s late introduction off the bench freed up Szoboszlai to move into midfield, the Hungary captain got forward to play a pivotal role in the winner. The stats will say that the assist belonged to Mohamed Salah after some slick interplay involving Harvey Elliott, Ryan Gravenberch, Bradley and Federico Chiesa.

But Liverpool were indebted to Szoboszlai’s awareness and anticipation. His intelligent run dragged Tino Livramento into the centre and created space for the unmarked Ngumoha behind him. He could have taken the shot on and tried to be the hero, but he unselfishly dummied Salah’s low cross. It was elite decision-making.

Dominik Szoboszlai excelled for Liverpool (Daniel Chesterton/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

“Talking about mentality, it is not easy to play as a full-back if you’ve only been a midfielder in your career,” Slot said.

“He played there once in pre-season. I think it was against Stoke when we played behind closed doors, but in that game, we only had the ball and tonight he had to defend a lot.

“For Dom to put in a performance like that, you can say a lot about his mentality — as you can about all the players because this was mentally such a difficult evening, such a difficult place to go to, such a difficult opponent to play against. For us to be able to get a result, let alone getting a win, is a big compliment for the boys.”

When Hugo Ekitike struck early in the second half against the club he turned down earlier this summer, Liverpool were in complete control. They already led courtesy of Ryan Gravenberch’s first league goal for 16 months and had a numerical advantage following Anthony Gordon’s red card for recklessly clattering Van Dijk.

“Hand him over, Newcastle,” chanted the gleeful away fans, a reference to Liverpool’s ongoing pursuit of the absent Alexander Isak. But the mood changed as Slot’s side made life hard for themselves. They didn’t keep the ball well enough and found themselves subjected to a sustained aerial bombardment. They invited pressure and gave the hosts hope.

Both goals came from set pieces, with Milos Kerkez outfought by Bruno Guimaraes at the far post, then the struggling Ibrahima Konate was bullied by Burn in the build-up to Will Osula equalising.

Aside from that vulnerability, the fact Liverpool had an extra man for so long but only fashioned five shots in total and created fewer expected goals (xG) than Newcastle, 0.70 versus 0.93, has to be a concern ahead of Sunday’s visit of Arsenal to Anfield.

There’s plenty to sort out both on and off the training pitch, with next Monday’s transfer deadline on the horizon and both the Isak and Marc Guehi situations to resolve.

You can’t keep throwing away two-goal leads, but Ngumoha ensured this was a night to savour for Liverpool rather than one of regrets. Elation was mixed with relief.

(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)