Rio Ngumoha’s time is now: Why Arne Slot must listen to Liverpool fans, Steven Gerrard and start teenage starlet

Frustration and disappointment were the two overriding emotions felt by Liverpool supporters following Tuesday's surprise 2-1 defeat to Premier League basement club Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

A deflected 94th-minute winning goal for Wolves condemned the Reds to their ninth league defeat of the season - more than double the amount they suffered in their 2024-25 title-winning campaign (four) - and their hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League remain in the balance.

For all their dominance in possession (66%), Liverpool did little to make it count as they registered only four of their 15 shots on target in the West Midlands, with their performance described as too “safe” by former defender Stephen Warnock.

“Everything is safe at the moment from Liverpool’s point of view,” Warnock told BBC Sport. “Backwards, sideways – Arne Slot said he’s bored of football, and his team aren’t entertaining tonight, that’s for sure.”

Meanwhile, club legend Steven Gerrard labelled Liverpool's performance as "desperate" and has urged head coach Slot to start teenage starlet Rio Ngumoha sooner rather than later following a number of impressive cameos as a substitute.

Gerrard, Carragher, Liverpool fans in agreement over Ngumoha

"For 65 minutes, Liverpool were desperate, really poor," Gerrard told TNT Sports. "Didn't create enough, didn't play at the right speed or the right tempo, didn't have enough quality.

"He has to start Ngumoha now, he has to start because he's coming on and doing more in a short cameo and a short space of time than [Cody] Gakpo is doing in 65, 70 minutes.

"He deserves a start now, he's got to start the kid on Friday night."

Liverpool will be out for revenge against Wolves when they return to Molineux on Friday for an FA Cup fifth-round tie, and Gerrard is not the only person from Merseyside who is keen to see Slot put more faith in Ngumoha.

Following Liverpool’s last-gasp 1-0 triumph at Nottingham Forest last weekend, Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports that Ngumoha had contributed more as a substitute than both Mohamed Salah and Gapko when they were on the pitch for over 70 minutes.

"Ngumoha did more in 15 minutes than Salah and Gakpo did before that," said Carragher. "He changed the game and needs to be starting games."

Liverpool supporters have also been calling for Slot to put more faith in Ngumoha via social media, with one fan saying: “If Slot had balls he’d start Rio Ngumoha over Mohamed Salah. He’s a better player now.”

Another recently posted: “Rio Ngumoha has to start every game man. I’m sick of this. [Virgil] van Dijk needs to speak to Slot.”

“If Slot cared any jot about the quality of entertainment in the Premier League, he’d play Rio Ngumoha from the start. Kid is magic and did more in 30 seconds than Gakpo has done in months,” a third fan said.

Slot cannot oversee Ngumoha ‘stagnation’ for much longer

Ngumoha has been limited to just three starts in 17 appearances for Liverpool across all competitions this season - two in the EFL Cup and one in the FA Cup - and he recently warned Slot about the potential for 'stagnation' as he bids to earn more game time at Anfield.

However, Slot has acknowledged the delicate balance he is trying to strike regarding Ngumoha’s playing time, telling reporters: "Let's be clear, he is a special player that will have more playing time and already has more playing time recently.

"If everyone thinks he is so good, then he should be in something to talk about again. If he is already good enough to play for us, then he should definitely be, in your opinion.

"(I'm mindful over lack of Under-21s football) 100% - that is what makes it so difficult at the age of these two players (Ngumoha and Trey Nyoni) and where they are at in their development. (They are) good enough to come in or to play for us, to be on the bench, (with) our squad not being big enough.

"So we always need them on the bench and that also means that if you look at his playing time and Trey's playing time, overall that has not been enough to develop a player ideally in a better way. But that is the downside of having injuries, the downside of they are a bit too good (for the Under-21s)."

Slot is right to manage a young talent like Ngumoha carefully and avoid rushing him into the first team at such a big club. However, the teenager has shown enough glimpses of his quality when called upon to warrant more starts, particularly at a time when the likes of Salah, and Gakpo in particular, have struggled for form.

Salah ended his nine-game goal drought in the Premier League with his strike against Wolves, while Gakpo has contributed with only two goals and zero assist in is last 18 appearances across all competitions dating back to December 3.

How Ngumoha and Gakpo compare at Liverpool

Against Wolves, Gakpo found it difficult to make a impact and was taken off in the 65th minute with an xA (expected assist) of 0.05, zero crosses completed, zero key passes and without completing a single dribble past an opponent.

In contrast, Ngumoha registered a 0.36 xG (expected goals) from shots on target, an xA of 0.41, made one key pass, created one big chance and completed both of his attempted dribbles.

The pacey and skilful winger did not need long to make an introduction, lofting a smart cross towards the back post for Van Dijk before having a curling shot tipped against the outside of the post by goalkeeper Jose Sa.

Ngumoha also outperformed Gakpo against Nottingham Forest despite featuring for just the final quarter of the match; his tricky and cross led to Alexis Mac Allister’s disallowed goal in stoppage time before the Argentine scored the winner a few minutes later.

In the Premier League alone, Liverpool’s No.73 leads the division for chances created per 90 (6.1) among players with three or more appearances this season, despite playing just 103 minutes for the Reds.

At the age of just 16 years and 361 days, Ngumoha became Liverpool’s youngest goalscorer when he netted a dramatic stoppage-time winner in the 3-2 Premier League triumph at Newcastle at the end of August, and he has rarely been seen since.

Now, the time has come for the youngster to start more.

Some will argue that Slot should focus on getting the best out of his current first-team attackers rather than relying on a 17-year-old, but Ngumoha has shown he is capable of performing at this level – he just simply needs more opportunities.

Liverpool’s FA Cup trip to Wolves on Friday is a ideal opportunity for Slot to allow Ngumoha to strut his stuff from the start and prove why he is good enough to rival Gakpo and others for regular starts in the future.

Whether he is thrown straight into a two-legged Champions League last-16 tie with Galatasaray or the Reds’ next Premier League game against a struggling Spurs remains to be seen. However, a strong showing against Wolves in the FA Cup could force Slot to rethink his plans for the teenager.