Rio Ngumoha banishes Anfield frustrations with sublime goal for Liverpool U21s

The 17-year-old saw his goal ruled out for offside in the FA Cup win over Brighton on Saturday, but he had a more enjoyable afternoon the following day as he featured in the U21s' victory over West Brom

Rio Ngumoha scored a sublime individual goal in Liverpool's U21 win over West Brom(Image: Getty Images)

Rio Ngumoha sent a timely reminder of his quality as he netted a sublime individual goal in Liverpool's U21s fixture against West Brom on Sunday.

The winger collected the ball on the corner of the box and, after driving inside on his favored right foot, curled a fantastic shot into the far side of the net, giving Brian Okonkwo no chance in the opposition goal.

The goal will go some way to making up for the frustration he felt at Anfield less than 24 hours earlier, when the teenager saw a second goal of his senior career chalked off. Ngumoha was adjudged to have wandered into an offside position before receiving the ball in the latter stages of the FA Cup win over Brighton, and it was subsequently disallowed.

Replays were inconclusive as to whether Ngumoha was offside, with his position close to that of the final defender.

With no VAR in use in the FA Cup fourth round, there was still some debate after the full-time whistle as to whether the goal should have counted.

Arne Slot certainly felt it should have. “Tonight, again, there was a decision that didn't go in our favor, which should have been different because he was onside, but we were still able to win 3-0, so now no one talks about it,” said the Dutchman.

“I don't follow everything, but I don't think there's been a lot spoken about how many times we've been disadvantaged by a referee decision this season.

“Unfortunate for him because it would have been a nice moment for him to score a goal and for Cody [Gakpo] to have an assist because I think Cody played a very good game tonight as well.”

Arne Slot felt Ngumoha's goal should have stood(Image: Getty Images)

There was no such doubt about his precise strike against West Brom at the AXA Training Centre, in a game Liverpool ran out as eventual 4-3 winners thanks to goals from Will Wright, Trey Nyoni, Ngumoha and Kieran Morrison.

Sunday’s game was just Ngumoha’s second youth-team appearance of the season.

That he has dropped down a level to play for the U21s gives some insight into his mixed fortunes in recent months.

Ngumoha has struggled to play regular minutes for the first team, and while making 14 appearances, has been limited to 32 minutes in the Premier League since the end of November.

There have been some concerns raised about the impact this could have on his short-term development, with the 17-year-old clearly a level above youth soccer, but also not yet trusted by Slot to play a significant role.

Therefore, Ngumoha’s scoring return to the U21s should be seen as a positive for those keeping a close watch on his career.