Liverpool stayed perfect in the Champions League after coming from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield. The night began badly, with a Virgil van Dijk mistake setting up Georges Mikautadze for the opener, and Sergi Cardona doubled the lead after Van Dijk failed to track his runner.
The response came through Rio Ngumoha, the 18-year-old winger who made the Villarreal left back's life a misery with pacy dribbling. He crossed for Ronald Araújo to equalise on the stroke of halftime, after Alexis Mac Allister's flicked header had reduced the deficit. Ngumoha returned even more threatening after the break, and his attacking drives repeatedly tormented Cardona, leading to Mac Allister's close-range finish.
Mac Allister scored twice, and Florian Wirtz grabbed his first goal since April. Andoni Iraola's side have established themselves as Europe's great entertainers. After six goals at LASK last week, another four left them behind only Paris St Germain in the table and as the competition's top scorers.
Ngumoha, who had changed the game as a second-half substitute at Brentford on Saturday, returned to the starting line-up as one of six changes after another injury ruled out Víctor Muñoz. He was given a 74th-minute standing ovation from Anfield, and Duran Duran's "Rio" was played at the final whistle.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing