Rio Ngumoha breaks Liverpool record in Villarreal win and hails 'dream' night

· Mirror

Goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz helped Liverpool beat Villarreal 4-3, but Rio Ngumoha was the star of the show by producing an outstanding display

Rio Ngumoha said it was a “dream” come true after inspiring Liverpool’s Champions League fightback at Anfield. Ngumoha, 18, provided two assists as Liverpool came back from 2-0 down to win with Alexis Mac Allister twice on the score sheet in a seven-goal thriller.

Liverpool starlet Ngumoha became the club’s youngest player to provide an assist in the competition as they made it three straight wins in the league phase. England winger Ngumoha went off to a standing ovation when he was substituted and he told Amazon Prime:

> “We have the best fans in the world and to hear my name chanted is a dream.

> “These records are amazing to break but winning is the most important. It was a top performance from the boys. We were two goals down but the mentality was always there. We knew we were going to win.

> “It's up there with one of the best I've played. I enjoyed myself and the team helped me a lot. Whenever I get the ball and there's an opportunity to go one-v-one or two-v-one, I believe in myself. I'll just keep going and be ruthless.”

Two goal hero Mac Allister paid tribute to “amazing” Ngumoha and the Argentina midfielder also paid tribute to boss Andoni Iraola and says he hopes to change the club’s mind as he is into the final two years of his contract and is yet to receive a new offer.

Mac Allister said:

> “Rio, he was amazing tonight. He made the difference. He was really important and I'm glad for him.

> “From the first day, I started seeing something with the manager. He's a nice guy, and the coaching staff is, too. We are going in the right direction but we need to work and put in everything. Hopefully, we can win some trophies.

> “When I say what I said about my future, it was more about my emotions and feelings. That is their decision and it is fine with me. I do my best in training and in games. We will see what happens.”

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