2 hours ago
47
Harvey Elliott hailed the performances of Rio Ngumoha and Florian Wirtz following Saturday’s pre-season friendly against AC Milan.
The duo were Liverpool’s standout players in the 4-2 defeat in Hong Kong, in a performance that showcased lots of impressive attacking sequences, but included too many defensive lapses. Most, including Elliott, Ngumoha and Wirtz, managed 45 minutes, with the first half seeing Liverpool’s best moments.
Ngumoha tended to be at the heart of that and, despite his juvenile years, didn’t look out of place against the seven-time European champions. The 16-year-old caused Alexis Saelemaekers repeated issues down Milan’s right flank, with his quick feet and rapid acceleration creating several openings.
One such chance led to Dominik Szoboszlai’s 26th-minute equalizer when Ngumoha drove down the line and cut it back to the Hungarian.
“I mean, he's fearless,” was Elliott’s post-match verdict, when speaking to LFCTV.
“I think he showed that today against AC Milan, one of Europe's big teams. He just looked like a kid in a park, although he is a kid.
“He just needs to carry on like that and we're trying as much as we can to help him out.”
This was Ngomoha’s third start of pre-season and, amid the uncertainty surrounding Luis Diaz’s future, the youngster is expected to play an increased role at senior level this term.
“I think if he keeps on performing the way he is, working hard as he is, the kid's got an amazing future and [I'm] really excited to see where things go,” said Elliott. “Hopefully he can be very successful.”
Wirtz was the other star performer for the Reds. His ability to drive from deep, take the ball on the half turn and link up with Mohamed Salah, were all very encouraging signs following his record-breaking move to Anfield earlier this window.
“I think it was just learning to have that relationship with Flo,” said Elliott, who lined up alongside Wirtz as floating no.10s.
“When one drops, one stays high and pins back the defenders. If the ball was on one side, make sure we're both coming over to support.
“I think we had a really good relationship for the first time playing with each other and I think it clicked really well. I think we had a fair few opportunities and we were able to cause problems.
“It was different formations that as a team we've never really played before, but I think there were really good moments in the game.”
English (US) ·