He deserves every bit of praise going his way for that performance. The 18-year-old was relentless on the right for the Reds, completing nine of his 10 attempted dribbles and racking up two assists. 

Lamine Yamal is the only other teenager to have two assists in the Champions League this term.  

It was the Rio show on Tuesday night. That can’t be disputed. But Trey Nyoni’s performance was just as important for Andoni Iraola’s side. 

The 19-year-old was linked with a loan move to Swansea towards the end of last season having racked up just 21 minutes in the Premier League for Arne Slot’s side. With Adam Wharton tipped to make a move to Anfield, it felt as though Nyoni would have to move elsewhere for regular first-team minutes.

Slot’s departure was a sliding doors moment for the former Leicester academy starlet. Iraola arrived and with it a fresh start for, well, everyone. Nyoni was given an opportunity to play his way into the Head Coach’s first team plans.

He did just that. In fact, he impressed enough for a promotion, filling the void left in the squad by Curtis Jones’ sale to Inter. 

Granted, the way the market spiralled also helped Nyoni’s cause. Elliot Anderson moving to Manchester City for £116million meant Crystal Palace demanded a similar fee for Wharton. Had the Eagles been open to lower bids, perhaps the Reds would’ve moved to bring the left-footed maestro back to the North West. 

Nyoni started the season as a fourth choice midfield option behind Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister. Right now, it’d be hard to argue that he isn’t part of Iraola’s first choice double pivot alongside Mac Allister. With Szoboszlai ruled out for the foreseeable and Gravenberch not trusted in a deeper role, Nyoni has found himself in the starting XI. 

That isn’t even subjective either. Gravenberch started the first game of the season against Newcastle. He struggled and has been used sparingly since. He started against Fulham in a 0-0 draw at Anfield in September. The Dutchman was then restored to the starting XI following Szoboszlai’s injury only to be sent off against Manchester City. 

He started as a No8 against LASK last week, partnering Nyoni in midfield but was a bit of a disappointment in what many believe to be his best position.

He had just 53 touches and attempted 38 passes across his 90 minutes on the pitch. He failed to complete a single dribble and won just three of his eight duels. Gravenberch missed the win over Brentford before being named as the attacking midfielder against Villarreal. 

Iraola trusted Nyoni at the base of the midfield. He could’ve gone with Gravenberch and Mac Allister as his double pivot with, say, James McConnell as the man behind Lewis Koumas, just as he did against Spurs in the Carabao Cup. The fact he went with Nyoni in midfield and Gravenberch as the No10 was quite telling. 

And Nyoni didn’t disappoint. He finished the game having had the most touches (98). He attempted 88 passes and had a pass success rate of 94%. He gave Liverpool a different dynamic in midfield. Able to play as part of a double pivot, he also gave Mac Allister the license to get forward by splitting the centre-backs and acting as a third in the build-up. 

He didn’t just do a job there. He was really, really good there. 

Can he switch off defensively at times? Yes. Is he still learning on the job? Also yes. But should we hone in on that? No. 

He keeps things moving in possession. What's particularly impressive about his range of passing is that everything isn’t just easy and simple. He’ll play progressive passes from the left to the right. He’ll look to move the Reds through the thirds. He knows when to retain the ball and play it back.

Nyoni does offer reminders of Jones, just with a quicker tempo at times. You know when he’s on the pitch that the ball is going to remain 1) moving 2) in our possession. He gave the hosts a platform to build from once we managed to get hold of the ball. 

One of the standout traits he possesses though, is his ability to blend styles together. He’s a press resistant ball carrier, akin to Gravenberch, but he’s also got that passing range too.

Look at where he’s picking up possession here. Alisson plays the ball to his feet while he’s facing his own goal. It’s a prime position to press him in as a turnover here gives Villarreal a run at goal. 

Nyoni’s teammates are to Liverpool’s right. The man pressing him expects him to turn towards Jeremy Jacquet or Kostas Tsimikas, so they all press from that side. You can see someone closing him down as well as anticipating a pass to the Greek full-back. 

Nyoni funnels the ball out to the Liverpool left and to the feet of Florian Wirtz. Immediately, look at the above picture. You have four Villarreal players out of the game to the left of the screen, Wirtz has acres of space and Liverpool have a five on two as they look to progress now.

And it all stems from Nyoni being able to read the play, bypass the press and pick out a pass. 

If he continues to develop with these sorts of performances, Liverpool are going to save themselves £100million in the transfer market.

The midfield dictator they desperately needed was within their ranks all along. 

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