Liverpool came from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield on Tuesday evening, 20 October, in the third round of the Champions League league phase. Alexis Mac Allister scored twice, Ronald Araújo and Florian Wirtz were also on target, and 18-year-old winger Rio Ngumoha supplied two assists. The club's official report says the win keeps Andoni Iraola's side perfect in the league phase with nine points from three games.
From 2-0 down to 4-3
Villarreal were ahead early when Virgil van Dijk misjudged a header back towards Alisson from a long Renato Veiga ball and Georges Mikautadze rolled the ball under the goalkeeper, The Guardian reports. Around the half-hour, Pape Gueye, Alberto Moleiro and Nathan Saliba combined to send left-back Sergi Cardona through for 2-0.
Set pieces turned it. Mac Allister glanced in a header from a Kostas Tsimikas corner, then Araújo headed home Ngumoha's cross with the last touch of the half after Cardona let the ball bounce behind him. At the break Iraola sent on Wirtz for Araújo and moved Ryan Gravenberch to right-back. Ngumoha then skipped past Cardona and Juan Foyth and pulled the ball back for Mac Allister to smash in off the crossbar; three minutes later Wirtz drilled in his first goal of the season. Tani Oluwaseyi's late volley made for a nervous finish.
| Minute | Team | Scorer |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Villarreal | Georges Mikautadze |
| 29 | Villarreal | Sergi Cardona |
| 36 | Liverpool | Alexis Mac Allister |
| 45+1 | Liverpool | Ronald Araújo |
| 65 | Liverpool | Alexis Mac Allister |
| 68 | Liverpool | Florian Wirtz |
| 87 | Villarreal | Tani Oluwaseyi |
Goal minutes as reported by Dân Trí and SGGP.
Ngumoha's night
According to figures released by Liverpool and reported by Bongda24h, Ngumoha, at 18 years and 52 days, became the youngest player to assist a goal for the club in Europe, beating Michael Owen, who was 18 years and 324 days old when he assisted against Valencia in November 1998. Bongda24h, citing Opta, adds that he is the third-youngest player to make at least two assists in a Champions League match, after Warren Zaïre-Emery and Theo Walcott.
"These records are amazing to break but the assist so we win is the most important thing," Ngumoha told Amazon Prime Video. Iraola said the teenager was "very difficult to stop" in one-on-ones but stressed he is "still 18, he's not the full package". Van Dijk, who admitted to "a bad day at the office personally", told The Guardian that working with Mohamed Salah last season "was obviously massive" for Ngumoha.
Background
It was Liverpool's fourth game in 10 days, so Iraola made six changes and benched Wirtz, Bradley Barcola and Alexander Isak, who is returning from a thigh injury. The Guardian notes Iraola replaced Arne Slot in the summer and this was his 11th game in charge; the club says he has seven wins and one defeat so far. He and Villarreal coach Iñigo Pérez are former Athletic Bilbao teammates. Iraola admitted: "We started too relaxed and we were too relaxed at 4-2."
What comes next
Brighton are next for Liverpool in the Premier League; Van Dijk said the squad must now get ready for "a super team". See our team news before Villarreal and more on the European football page.