Iraola: Ngumoha is becoming 'a complete player' for Liverpool

Andoni Iraola says Rio Ngumoha is becoming 'a more and more complete player' after the youngster starred in Liverpool's breathless 4-3 Champions League victory over Villarreal.

Ngumoha produced a dazzling display, setting up goals for Ronald Araujo and Alexis Mac Allister in either half, but things were far from straightforward for Liverpool at Anfield early on.

Villarreal ruthlessly exploited frailties in the Liverpool defence, with goals from Georges Mikautadze and Sergi Cardona putting them two up by the 29th minute.

The Reds refused to buckle, though, and were level before the break. Mac Allister headed home Kostas Tsimikas' corner to halve the deficit, before Araujo, left unmarked at the back post, struck to send the sides in at 2-2.

In the 65th minute, Ngumoha's deft control and superb cross allowed Mac Allister to net his second and Liverpool's third. Shortly afterwards, substitute Florian Wirtz scored his first goal of the season to make it 4-2.

Tani Oluwaseyi's 87th-minute strike set up a nervy finish, but Liverpool held on to make it 3 wins from 3 in this season's Champions League.

The standout figure on the night, however, was Ngumoha, who at 18 years and 52 days became the third-youngest player in history to provide more than one assist in a Champions League match. Only Warren Zaïre-Emery (17 years and 231 days) and Theo Walcott (17 years and 250 days) were younger when they did so.

The teenager also became only the fourth young player since the 2003-04 season to complete 7 or more successful dribbles in more than one Champions League match, after Lamine Yamal, Cristiano Ronaldo and Arjen Robben.

Speaking after the game, Iraola was full of praise for his gifted winger:

"I'm really happy for Rio. He works very hard to improve on every point we try to correct. He's now playing more on the right wing and he has adapted very well to that position. He's started cutting inside. He struggled a bit defensively in the first half, but he was much better in the second. He's becoming a more and more complete player, and he's still only 18."

"In the first half they had a numerical advantage in the middle. So we decided to move Ryan Gravenberch to right-back and create more of a threat together with Rio. Ryan's contribution is very valuable to us. We shifted the play a little more towards one flank and gave support on the left side. With that change we finished the first half well and started the second half very strongly."

With this performance, Ngumoha also became the youngest player since the 2008-09 season to record more than 5 dribbles (7), more than 10 touches in the opposition box (12) and assists (2) in a Champions League game.

Liverpool have now won all 4 home matches in major European competition in which they fell two goals behind within the first 29 minutes, while this season they have avoided defeat in 5 of the 6 games across all competitions in which they conceded first.