Virgil van Dijk reveals what he told Rio Ngumoha just before Liverpool winner vs Newcastle
Rio Ngumoha is one of the rising stars of the summer after breaking into the Liverpool squad during preseason.
The 16-year-old has already managed to make a name for himself on Anfield, despite having to compete with big-money signings for a place in the squad.
Ngumoha looks to be the natural replacement for Luis Diaz, who completed a move to Bayern Munich in the summer.
The youngster was an excellent impact substitute as he scored an injury-time winner against Newcastle, and his efforts were aided by Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.
Rio Ngumoha told ‘hard work starts now’ by Virgil van Dijk
There was an extra bite about the game between Newcastle and Liverpool, given the transfer saga involving Alexander Isak.
The rivalry was on full show as former Liverpool target Anthony Gordon was sent off for a high challenge.
Two goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike seemingly put them out of sight before they were cancelled out late by their hosts.
However, Ngumoha came on as a substitute in the 96th minute and converted a well-worked winner, just four minutes after coming on.
| Player | Age at time of goal |
| Rio Ngumoha | 16 years 11 months 27 days |
| Michael Owen | 17 years 4 months 22 days |
| Raheem Sterling | 17 years 10 months 12 days |
| Stefan Bajcetic | 18 years 2 months 4 days |
Captain van Dijk has now revealed what he told the 16-year-old before the goal.
“I’m very pleased for Rio. I mentioned to him before hard work starts now and he has to stay humble,” he said.
“I’m sure with the players we have he’ll be back training hard tomorrow”.
Ngumoha became Liverpool’s youngest Premier League goalscorer, but it is hard to say that supporters didn’t see it coming.
After such an impressive preseason, scoring against the likes of AC Milan, it felt inevitable that with five months remaining to beat the record, he would’ve done.
How does Rio Ngumoha compare with Luis Diaz?
Losing Diaz was a worry for supporters, but Slot looks to have a ready-made replacement in Ngumoha.
Though the Reds need to be careful not to risk any injuries with the youngster, in his brief stints on the pitch, he has shown pace and trickery.
Even one year ago, when he was 15, Ngumoha was pictured taking on first-team players in training.
Much like Diaz, he appears to have an eye for goal and a creative spark about him, which will be very useful coming off the bench.
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