At the end of a stormy week for Arne Slot there was respite in the form of a morale-boosting display from Rio Ngumoha. Liverpool’s 17-year-old winger marked his second Premier League start with an exquisite goal and a key role in the second from Mohamed Salah as the troubled champions celebrated a first league win since February.
Liverpool seemed vulnerable after painful cup quarter-final defeats at Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain had intensified the pressure on Slot. The ingredients were in place for Anfield to turn toxic. Fulham never put that fragility to the test. Marco Silva’s team were passive and limited in front of goal while Liverpool, re-energised by the virtuosity of Ngumoha, found the clinical touch and resolve to reach the landmark of 1,500 league wins at Anfield. It was only their second win in six games following a Champions League away trip this season and should restore some confidence before the daunting assignment against PSG on Tuesday. Ngumoha pressed his claims for inclusion from the start.
“He has a special quality that you don’t see very often in football any more – dominating the one-on-one,” Slot said of his teenage game-changer. “That was a Mo Salah-finish. In training during the last month we saw he had more and more power to hit the ball like he did today. It was pleasing he did what we know makes him special.”
There were no flags on display on the Kop as part of protests against Liverpool’s decision to increase most ticket prices for the next three seasons by the rate of inflation. The removal of imagery that the club and broadcasters love to promote, along with a flat atmosphere for the most part, were pointed demonstrations of what could happen to Anfield should Liverpool drive away their traditional fanbase in favour of the tourist economy. One banner reading ‘No to ticket prices increases’ was paraded along the front of the Kop in the 14th minute, followed by a chant that bluntly told Liverpool’s owners where to stick their price rises.
The contest mirrored the subdued environment until Ngumoha took it upon his gifted young self to enliven proceedings. Liverpool were sharper and more aggressive, Fulham sluggish, though Bernd Leno was not seriously troubled in the opening 35 minutes. Jeremie Frimpong provided Liverpool’s most potent threat in the opening stages. His pass inside to Salah resulted in the first real chance of note, saved by Leno at his near post, before Liverpool’s teenage winger changed the complexion of the entire evening with a superb opener.
The referee, Anthony Taylor, played advantage after the Fulham midfielder Sander Berge wrestled Cody Gakpo to the ground. Florian Wirtz collected the loose ball and found Ngumoha on the left. The winger dazzled Timothy Castagne with a series of step-overs, turning the full-back one way and then the other, and curled a pristine finish around Joachim Andersen into the far corner. Ngumoha not only brought a drab game to life but created a slice of history in becoming Liverpool’s youngest league goalscorer at Anfield, aged 17 years and 225 days. He took a 14-year record that had previously belonged to Raheem Sterling.
The connection between Ngumoha, Wirtz and Salah improved instantly and offers Slot food for thought for the Champions League return against PSG. His decision to remove Wirtz and Ngumoha in the 68th minute may have been taken with the quarter-final second leg in mind. “I think he’s ready,” said the head coach on the prospect of Ngumoha starting against the European champions. “The question is can he do it again two days later? But would he be able to perform at that level? Yes.”
• Mohamed Salah's goal took him to 250 non-penalty goals and assists in the Premier League (157 goals, 93 assists), becoming the fifth player to do so after Wayne Rooney (288), Ryan Giggs (269), Alan Shearer (268) and Andrew Cole (259).
• Only Alan Shearer (204), Andrew Cole (186), Wayne Rooney (185) and Harry Kane (180) have scored more non-penalty goals in the Premier League than Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah (157), going level with Sergio Agüero.
• At 17 years and 225 days, only Wayne Rooney (17y 51d v Blackburn) and Cesc Fàbregas (17y 113d v Blackburn) have started a Premier League game and scored at a younger age than Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha (pictured shooting for his goal. Opta
Unusually for Liverpool this season, they struck just as their opponents were growing into the game and capitalised on their momentum to establish a two-goal cushion. The second came courtesy of a player at the opposite end of his Anfield career. Ngumoha was again instrumental as he confidently took on three Fulham players before clipping a pass into Gakpo. The Netherlands international turned the ball on to Salah who swept a clinical finish of his own inside Leno’s far corner.
Silva made a double substitution at the break in an attempt to inject some aggression and quality into the Fulham performance. The introduction of Emile Smith Rowe and Sasa Lukic brought some improvement, although Gakpo should have extended Liverpool’s lead from Frimpong’s immaculate cross early in the second half. The forward, who led the line with Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak on the bench, made a mess of the delivery. The one negative for Slot was the groin injury suffered by Curtis Jones that forced his half-time substitution and is likely to rule him out of the PSG game.
Smith Rowe should have also done better when found unmarked inside the Liverpool area by fellow substitute Ryan Sessegnon. The midfielder’s first-time volley trickled wide of Giorgi Mamardashvili’s goal and Fulham never seriously threatened again. “The game was decided in five minutes and by our approach in the first half,” said Silva. “We were not aggressive enough on or off the ball and allowed Liverpool to build up their attacks too easily.”
