Luis Diaz was just one who reacted as Rio Ngumoha scored and assisted as Liverpool defeated Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in a pre-season friendly at Anfield
Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool
Rio Ngumoha of Liverpool(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Rio Ngumoha's performance against Athletic Club has earned the plaudits of former Liverpool players. A goal and assist inside the opening five minutes of the 4-1 romp also led to a standing ovation from the Anfield crowd.
With the exception of a few stars, Arne Slot named a youthful Liverpool line-up for the first of two fixtures against Spanish outfit from Bilbao on Monday night. One of those seeking to make an impression was Ngumoha, fresh from scoring his first senior goal in the last pre-season friendly against Yokohama F. Marinos, and he was able to do so with an almost identical solo run from the halfway line and strike in front of The Kop.
Minutes later a neat team move saw Ben Doak cross to the back post, where the 16-year-old came in with the header that set up Darwin Nunez for a simple tap-in.
The Reds went on to win the match 4-1 with an own goal and Harvey Elliott adding to the host's tally.
Excitement over Ngumoha has only grown as a result of the performance, evidenced by the reaction of those watching live or from afar.
When he was substituted in the 67th minute for fellow prospect Trent Kone Doherty, the winger witnessed Anfield get to their feet in applause of the impact he had early on in the game.
Unsurprisingly, Ngumoha began to cause quite a stir on social media too where a number of ex-Liverpool stars began to make their feelings known about the talent.
A video of the No.73's goal shared on Liverpool's official Instagram account was given the caption: "Opening the scoring in style [star eyes emoji]." The big name spotted amongst the 180,000 likes on the post was Luis Diaz's.
Ngumoha's opportunity to stake a claim in Slot's plans as a left-winger has been given a push after the Colombian's £65.5m transfer to Bayern Munich was confirmed last Wednesday.
Also liking the post was former Anfield hero Gini Wijnaldum, whilst another post - an image of the teenager's celebration - had Ryan Babel comment underneath three applauding emojis.
As Ngumoha's substitution occurred, on commentary duty for LFC TV, club legend Gary Gillespie added: "It's been a fantastic performance, hasn't it? Such an impact in that first 45 minutes."
Liverpool are to face a second Bilbao XI in their second friendly of the event, which will see a stronger line-up take part. Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong, Milos Kerkez, Hugo Ekitike and Giorgi Mamardashvili make the team to make their Anfield debuts.