Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge hasn’t held back in his praise for Rio Ngumoha, following a Man of the Match performance against Villarreal.

The Reds came back from 2-0 down to win 4-2 at Anfield on Tuesday evening, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring twice, and Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz also finding the net.

It was Ngumoha who stood out as the best player on the pitch, however, with the 18-year-old providing two assists and running Villarreal’s defence ragged.

Speaking on Amazon Prime after the game [via The Independent], Sturridge lauded the winger’s “God-given ability”, following a coming-of-age performance:

“Rio Ngumoha was magnificent tonight. Such a threat, and he dedicated himself to his tasks. On the ball this kid has so much potential, and I say kid, but he’s a young man. He has so much quality and it’s stuff that you can’t teach to be honest.

“What he does with the ball at his feet, that is God-given ability, and his hard work on the training pitch, doing things day in and day out, and being ruthless, is what he said in his interview, and I like that. He wants to be decisive, and I love that about him.”

Robbie Fowler echoed that sentiment alongside Sturridge, saying: “It wasn’t a statement performance from Liverpool but it was a statement performance from [Ngumoha].

“I think we said early in the game that Liverpool were out of sorts, not playing really well, they were sloppy and giving the ball away, but there was one player you could count on in that first half, that could make something happen, and he carried on in the second half. He was a big, big difference.”

The sky is the limit for Rio Ngumoha at Liverpool

Some displays really do make you sit up and take notice, and Ngumoha’s against Villarreal was one of those, with the teenager a joy to watch, and the only Liverpool player who was good throughout.

His speed of feet was dazzling, but most importantly, he backed it up with end product, laying on assists for both Araujo and Mac Allister either side of half-time, and being hailed by Andoni Iraola after the game:

“I think he was coming from a very good game the other day, a very good second half against Brentford. Today he didn’t have an easy game because they were demanding of him defensively. Their left-back was attacking a lot, but there was a moment where offensively he’s been very difficult to stop.

1 – 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha is the youngest player on record since 2008-09 to complete 5+ dribbles (7), have 10+ touches in the opposition box (12) and register an assist (2) in a UEFA Champions League match.

Fearless. pic.twitter.com/VSZ4aKVHLt

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 20, 2026

Most dribbles completed in the Champions League this season:

? Rio Ngumoha – 16
? Lamine Yamal, Aboubakary Koita – 12
? Michael Olise – 9 pic.twitter.com/iHUgBjK6SE

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 20, 2026

“If we can put Rio in situations one-v-one where he can get into the box, normally he makes plays, he produces things. The assist to Alexis, I think it is, is a lovely play. He can even go down for a penalty, but he decides to continue and takes a great decision.”

Ngumoha has the potential to become one of the best attacking players in world football, and it’s now a case of him finding consistency and ensuring he continues to work hard on improving.

The talent is there to become a Liverpool legend, assuming the Reds tie him down to a contract extension, which feels like priority business after that performance.