Rio Ngumoha proves Liverpool point as Richarlison deals brutal punishment - 5 talking points

Liverpool couldn't collect a vital three points in the race for the Champions League places, despite Dominik Szoboszlai's excellent free-kick against Spurs. This is what we spotted.

Rio Ngumoha is challenged by Souza during Liverpool vs Tottenham.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Liverpool dropped more points against a team that it should be beating after drifting along against Tottenham, only for Richarlison to equalize late on.

Dominik Szoboszlai opened the scoring in the first half with a free-kick — won by a very soft foul on Alexis Mac Allister and an effort that should have been saved by Guglielmo Vicario — but the Reds couldn't extend their advantage.

It was a dangerous game that Arne Slot's side was playing, always at risk of a late hammerblow. Here are the five things Liverpool.com spotted as the game unfolded at Anfield.

Rio Ngumoha stakes a claim

Steven Gerrard got his wish: Rio Ngumoha, who has impressed lately, was in the team from the off. There is little doubt that, while Liverpool will be careful with him, he was deserving of the chance to shine.

Up against the experienced Pedro Porro, Ngumoha really seemed to enjoy himself. There were moments when he lost control of the ball or let his concentration levels slip, but he was a strong performer overall for the 62 minutes he got.

Max Dowman, the Arsenal wonderkid and future England international, got his big moment against Everton on Saturday. Ngumoha is another heading in the same direction.

Pace in attack

With a big game in the Champions League midweek and Liverpool in a run of tough matches, you can argue that Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah moving to the bench was a decision to rest them against a low-lying outfit.

In reality, though, neither has been playing that well of late. Salah, in particular, has been ineffective, while Ekitike has been overly relied upon in the absence of Alexander Isak.

Ngumoha, as discussed, offered more pace and direct running down the left, and Jeremie Frimpong did likewise on the right. Neither played at their very best — both can offer much more — but it was a noticeable upgrade on what has been served up in recent weeks.

Andy Robertson

Andy Robertson was deserving of another go after his impressive performance against Wolves in the FA Cup, and that he played so well alongside Ngumoha is probably not a coincidence in terms of his selection here.

Ngumoha is good enough to produce moments of magic, but he needed some guidance through the recent game at Molineux and got the same benefit here. They're a complementary duo.

With interest from Tottenham in January, Robertson could have been lining up for Spurs here in another universe. He will be glad he didn't make that move, though, and played pretty well.

Richarlison has last laugh

Alexis Mac Allister has been in poor form for much of the season, but it was noteworthy that he was in the side ahead of Curtis Jones, nonetheless. The latter, it could certainly be argued, is deserving of another starting chance soon.

Here, though neither he nor Ryan Gravenberch was ever put under that much pressure, Mac Allister was an accomplished performer aside from a short, wild spell in the second half. He won the free-kick from which Szoboszlai scored and put a good foot in a few times to win possession and spring an attack.

Tottenham is not the opponent to assess whether or not anyone is back to their best — Spurs simply aren't up to that much and didn't offer much in the way of a fight — but you can only be assessed against what is put out in front of you.

In this instance, it seemed to be an increasingly frustrated Richarlison who was Mac Allister's closest marker, dropping deep from the Tottenham attack.

The Brazilian fumed at being dispossessed by the Argentine a couple of times, and when he felt he was pulled back by Virgil van Dijk. As ever, he was jeered by the home crowd, who reveled in his latest visit to Anfield without much joy.

Champions League race

With Chelsea losing to Newcastle and Manchester United beating Aston Villa by three goals to one, this was a chance to make ground on two teams that Liverpool is competing against.

It was an opportunity that, now with only eight Premier League games remaining this season, Liverpool could not afford to pass up.

The Reds, as Arne Slot said on Friday, can only focus on their own matches. Do that successfully, as they just about did here, and they will finish inside the top five spots with something to spare.