Jamie Carragher says Liverpool have a player who was ‘difficult to stop’ against Aston Villa
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Liverpool and Aston Villa faced off in a Premier League meeting at Villa Park on Friday night, and Jamie Carragher covered the action.The Reds started slowly, and Virgil van Dijk drew the ire of fans for his questionable defending up against Ollie Watkins.But as ever, it was Rio Ngumoha who was impressing for Liverpool the most after being handed his second start in the space of a week. Who was Liverpool’s worst player on a terrible night at Villa Park?
The challenge here is to pick only one! Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images Jamie Carragher highlights Rio Ngumoha’s threat vs Aston VillaNgumoha has a very bright future, but has not been a regular starter under Arne Slot this season.However, after Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak, Mohamed Salah and Florian Wirtz all picked up issues, the teenage sensation has been thrust into the eleven in the Reds’ last two matches.On Friday night, Ngumoha was involved in an entertaining battle with Matty Cash and earned high praise from Carragher for his efforts.The former defender was commenting on the fixture live on Sky Sports when he claimed the young winger was ‘Liverpool’s brightest spark’.He said: “When he gets one-on-one, he’s one of those players who looks difficult to stop.“Rio has been Liverpool’s brightest spark.
He’s looked like that every time he’s put on a Liverpool shirt.”Rio Ngumoha matched Michael Owen record vs Aston VillaSalah and Wirtz returned to the bench on May 15, but neither was fit enough to start the fixture.In turn, Ngumoha has now matched Michael Owen in the Liverpool history books after he was selected alongside Cody Gakpo and Curtis Jones.The 17-year-old, who will celebrate his birthday on August 29, has now made the joint-most appearances of any Reds player in history prior to his 18th birthday.He matched second-place Raheem Sterling (17) last week, and has now gone level with the record holder, Owen (18).And with Brentford still to come before the end of the campaign, Ngumoha may well break the record before 2025/26 comes to a close.Join Our NewsletterReceive a digest of our best Liverpool content each week direct to your mailbox