'Fearless' Liverpool ace has just proven why he should be playing more often - opinion

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Rio Ngumoha managed to prove why Arne Slot should be starting him more at Liverpool during the first half of their Carabao Cup clash against Crystal Palace.Going into the second half, the score is currently 2-0 to the Eagles, with the clash being fairly end-to-end, even if Ismaila Sarr did bag a brace.Ngumoha burst onto the scene in the summer, with Slot choosing against signing Malick Fofana to allow the Englishman to develop further. And, even though Ngumoha bagged a last-minute winner on his Premier League debut against Newcastle, he’s rarely featured.Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty ImagesHowever, in their Carabao Cup clash against Palace on Wednesday, that’s been a completely different story with Ngumoha proving to be one of the Reds’ best players and showing why Slot should be giving him more of a chance.

Rio Ngumoha’s pace is something that Liverpool miss when Cody Gakpo startsLast season, Liverpool had the best of both worlds with Luis Diaz as their starting left-winger.His pace was a sight to behold, and his ability to either cut inside or bomb down the wing was what made him so hard to defend against. And, while Cody Gakpo may be a better finisher than the Colombian, he has much less pace, and, as shown in Liverpool’s game against Manchester United, Gakpo is rather prone to hitting the post.

However, with Ngumoha in the starting XI, it feels like glimpses of Diaz’s style of play have shone through, especially with his ability to take the ball forward at speed. His ability to dribble past his opponents and even ping a decent ball into the box makes it seem like he’s had much more of an impact than Gakpo already.