Rio Ngumoha is showing the kind of potential that has Liverpool supporters excited, and his dribbling numbers are turning heads across the Premier League and the Champions League. In Liverpool's recent win, the 18-year-old was sent on early in the second half and quickly changed the game. Playing at a different speed to everyone else, he produced a blur of stepovers and sharp changes of direction that left Villarreal defenders struggling to stop him.
His impact was clear in the numbers. Aged 18 years and 52 days, Ngumoha became the third-youngest player in Champions League history to provide two assists in a single game, after Warren Zaire-Emery and Theo Walcott. He first jinked inside to set up Ronald Araujo, then danced to the byline to put Alexis Mac Allister through.
Former Liverpool forward Robbie Fowler called it a "statement performance", while Daniel Sturridge praised his "God-given ability". Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher labelled him a "future superstar". His total of nine successful dribbles in the game took him to 18 in this season's Champions League, six clear of Barcelona's Lamine Yamal.
Ngumoha's ability has been evident since his arrival last season, when he marked his Premier League debut with a stoppage-time winner against Newcastle. Under Andoni Iraola, his development has continued, and his Premier League figures are just as strong. Since the start of last term, his average of 4.47 successful dribbles per 90 minutes puts him ahead of even Manchester City's Jeremy Doku. His 66 per cent dribble success rate since the start of last season is comfortably ahead of any other player with at least 35 attempts in the same period, while Doku's rate is 52 per cent.
Source: Sky Sports Champions League · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing