Rio Ngumoha earned the headlines with his stunning winner against Newcastle, but Liverpool fans are rightly concerned with Arne Slot‘s tactics.
Ngumoha came off the bench to score in the 100th minute to seal a 3-2 win for Liverpool and become the club’s youngest-ever goalscorer.
It was another remarkable moment to follow Federico Chiesa‘s unlikely winner against Bournemouth in their Premier League opener.
Rioooo my gggg ?? pic.twitter.com/tQTIH4G8QU
— Jeremie Frimpong (@JeremieFrimpong) August 25, 2025
But while it provided more memorable scenes to kick off Liverpool’s title defence, there remain concerns beneath the celebrations of a record-breaking strike.
A number of supporters took to social media and This Is Anfield‘s comments section to point out how, like Chiesa a week previous, Ngumoha seemed to get his head coach off the hook.
Arne Slot owes Rio Ngumoha a beer, when he's old enough to have one.
Got his boss out of jail after some poor decisions again. Two games, some big issues exposed in each.
— Matt Ladson (@mattladson) August 25, 2025
Just an incredible win for Liverpool given the noise around this game and how poor they were at times. Yes, great spirit shown and what a finish by Rio Ngumoha, who is a genuine option this season, but also so, so lucky. Arne Slot will know he has a lot of issues to fix.
— David Lynch (@davidlynchlfc) August 25, 2025
Mental game. Liverpool miles off it for most of the night but somehow get through it. Ngumoha’s moment of quality the difference. Still feels very moments-based – lacking control, defensively wide open at times. Lots for Slot to address before Arsenal on Sunday.
— Keifer MacDonald (@KeiferMacD) August 25, 2025
I can’t believe we’ve won that there. Was about to say it’s the worst performance against 10 men I’ve ever seen. Slot subs awful again. You can’t use Chiesa as a ST when you’re looking to clear the ball long
— Sean (@SeanDOlfc) August 25, 2025
Two weeks in a row slot’s made a load of subs and we’ve gone onto concede two and lose the lead… then one of the sub’s scores a late winner ?
— Belinder (@_bubblxs) August 25, 2025
We cannot be conceding two goals a game against 10 men and 11 men and we can’t keep outscoring our opponents all the time. Klopp tried it and we got found out later on. We cant also score two goals and concede the two later in the game, our luck will run out.”
– Rich in the comments.
3 games on the trot we sacrifice a 2 goal lead and instantly concede after Slot making subs.
It’s seriously worrying.
— Calvin (@calvin_lfc17) August 25, 2025
That second half was up there with the worst 45 minutes I've seen from a Liverpool team since the Hodgson days
— Green Scouser (@Green_Scouser) August 25, 2025
Playing poorly in phases, but still winning. That doesn’t last for long, but after the build up three points was all that mattered.
— Chris Williams (@Chris78Williams) August 25, 2025
Incredible win given we were so poor for long spells. Thought we invited pressure but slowing the play down in second half. Credit Newcastle. They were excellent. Rio Ngumohah is a star of the future who can also deliver in the now. What a player
— keith costigan (@KeithCostigan) August 25, 2025
We have sooooo much to work on before we go again
— LFCZA (@LFCZA) August 25, 2025
While Liverpool should not need a 16-year-old to come off the bench to find the winner against 10 men having led 2-0, few will be complaining about Ngumoha’s input.
The teenager is a prodigy, and will be a central part of Liverpool’s plans at first-team level after making a huge impression on Slot and his staff in pre-season.
But there are clearly flaws to address in Slot’s setup, and though the Dutchman can note ongoing absences – with Alexis Mac Allister and Jeremie Frimpong both missing on Monday – with over £300 million spent this summer that should be less of an issue.
Liverpool’s next test comes at home to Arsenal on Sunday, and they cannot afford to make the same mistakes – particularly at set-pieces – when they host last season’s runners-up.
Fan Comments