27 minutes on the pitch: Rio Ngumoha outperformed all of his Liverpool teammates in key area vs Brighton

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Rio Ngumoha’s stock continues to rise after another impressive cameo off the bench for Liverpool against Brighton and Hove Albion.Fans were baffled when Curtis Jones replaced Hugo Ekitike in the first half, seeing the teenager left on the bench by Arne Slot.He eventually came on in the 63rd minute and, despite his limited minutes, completed more dribbles than every single one of his Liverpool teammates on the day, as per Sofascore. Who was the worst performer for Liverpool against Brighton?

You can always count on these two! Photo by Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images Rio Ngumoha completed more dribbles than Liverpool teammates vs BrightonThe 17-year-old is already proving himself to be a serious threat in the final third, creating the joint-most chances of a Liverpool player in the Premier League (7) when he started against Tottenham Hotspur last week.He was then benched against Galatasaray in midweek, and Cody Gakpo was chosen ahead of him on March 21.However, Ngumoha outperformed his rival when he was eventually brought on against the Seagulls, completing three out of five dribbles compared to Gakpo’s two out of six.No other Red managed more than two on the day, with the former Chelsea gem doing so in just 27 minutes (as per Sofascore) of action.He was also the most fouled Liverpool player on the day (twice), showing just what a threat he can be in the final third.However, for whatever reason, Slot is still insisting on starting players like Gakpo ahead of the youngster most weeks.This comes despite Gakpo having another simply woeful game.

The ex-PSV forward ended the tie with 0.1 xG, one shot on target, 0.02 xA, a 50% passing accuracy, three out of five ground duels won and he lost possession 15 times.Manchester City are now next up for Liverpool, whose season is going to be defined by their success in the FA Cup and Champions League.Yet, it would not be at all surprising to see Gakpo starting ahead of Rio in the fourth round when club football returns at the beginning of April.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox