Gary Lineker compares Rio Ngumoha to Kylian Mbappe after first league start

Gary Lineker has compared Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha to Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe following his impressive Premier League debut against Tottenham on Sunday

Gary Lineker has praised Rio Ngumoha(Image: Rest Is Football)

Gary Lineker has heaped praise on Liverpool's young winger Rio Ngumoha, likening him to Kylian Mbappe after a standout performance in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham.

The 17-year-old was given his first Premier League start by Arne Slot for the match against Spurs at Anfield. The youngster certainly seized the moment, making a significant impact for the Reds on the left flank and posing a threat every time he was in possession.

Despite not scoring or providing an assist in the game, Ngumoha gave Spurs' right-back Pedro Porro a challenging day, and Liverpool's attacking threat seemed diminished when he wasn't on the field.

Jamie Carragher singled out Ngumoha for special commendation during his co-commentary for Sky Sports, describing him as "brilliant" and conceding that you "can't stop" him in a one-on-one situation.

Now, former Everton and Leicester striker Lineker has shared his thoughts on Ngumoha, drawing parallels between him and Real Madrid's Mbappe.

Speaking on Rest Is Football, Lineker said: "You're always slightly wary of getting ahead of yourself, but you recognize special talent when it arrives, and he looks to me the most likely since Wayne Rooney to absolutely be a superstar.

Rio Ngumoha shone against Tottenham, but Arne Slot took him off midway through the second half(Image: Getty Images)

"I'm going to go off piece here to a different game, but Rio Nguomha, my word!

"You'd have [Max] Dowman on the right, the future looks bright! Wow, he was incredible. It was his first start in the PL and again, I don't want to get carried away, I'm not comparing him, but I'm saying that he's got that stop-start sharpness of Mbappe.

"I'm not saying that he's Mbappe because he's one of the greatest players, but he's got enormous potential. He wasn't scared to take people on; Porro didn't know which way he was going to go, and then that clever threaded pass through, he went very close a couple of times.

"I thought he was very special, I'm surprised he went off actually."

Ex-Manchester City defender Micah Richards believed the match shifted when Ngumoha was withdrawn. The Reds held a 1-0 advantage courtesy of Dominik Szoboszlai's first-half free-kick when Slot opted to replace Ngumoha after 64 minutes, with Spurs subsequently drawing level late on through Richarlison's strike.

Richards commented: "I thought the game changed when he went off. He was pushing Spurs all the way back, and then Spurs stayed in the game and got their goal. I thought he was the player of the match by far.

"I've been in that position, Pedro Porro, you know when someone's got the better of you, and he keeps going, we're shouting, 'just keep giving the ball to him, let's see the battle.' Then you're thinking, is he going to go back into the mode of what us pundits say is robotic and start getting it and coming back. But he didn't, and that was the most exciting thing, where he just wanted to keep going and going with conviction.

"On another day, he could have had two goals and a couple of assists. I thought, overall performance for someone so young was very good."