Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal: Reds fights Back from 2-0 down

Rio Ngumoha provided the spark as Liverpool came from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield in the Champions League, maintaining their perfect start to the league phase.

Andoni Iraola’s side endured a dismal opening half-hour but were given hope by Alexis Mac Allister’s goal before the 18-year-old Ngumoha set up Ronald Araujo to level on the brink of half-time. Ngumoha then did superbly to tee up Mac Allister after the break as Liverpool hit the front for the first time, before Florian Wirtz scored his first club goal of the season. Ultimately, Iraola’s side made it three wins out of three in Europe, but they did not make things easy for themselves.

Villarreal struck early when Virgil van Dijk’s poor header allowed Georges Mikautadze to seize on the mistake and score in the fourth minute – the earliest Liverpool had fallen behind at Anfield in a major European tie for a quarter of a century. Worse followed as Nathan Saliba’s pass carved open the defence and Sergi Cardona raced through to finish slickly past Alisson, putting the visitors 2-0 up inside half an hour.

Liverpool responded. Mac Allister rose to head in Kostas Tsimikas’ corner in the 36th minute, then Ngumoha’s delightful delivery found Araujo at the far post in first-half stoppage time as Cardona was caught napping. Level at the break, the hosts were transformed after the interval. Ngumoha again beat his man, drove to the byline and squared for Mac Allister to fire home under the crossbar for 3-2. Three minutes later Cody Gakpo played in Wirtz, who took a touch and slotted left-footed into the bottom corner.

Tani Oluwaseyi volleyed a late consolation for Villarreal from Ayoze Pérez’s cross, setting up a nervy finish, but Liverpool held on. The result keeps them top of the pile with maximum points from three games, underlining both their attacking threat and the defensive frailties that still need addressing. Ngumoha, meanwhile, announced himself on the European stage with a performance full of energy, invention and end product.