Rio Ngumoha Shuns “Noise” After Scoring Liverpool Winner

The 16-year-old scored in the 10th minute of stoppage-time to give the Reds a thrilling 3-2 victory over Newcastle.

Liverpool hero Rio Ngumoha said he will not “get too carried away with all the noise” after the “crazy” feeling of scoring a dramatic late winner against Newcastle at the age of 16 years and 361 days.

Ngumoha became the fourth youngest scorer in Premier League history as his cool strike in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage-time secured a 3-2 victory for the Reds at St James’ Park on Monday night.

He also entered the Liverpool record books as their youngest scorer.

“I was happy to score, I’m buzzing,” Ngumoha told TalkSPORT. “I heard them screaming my name and that’s a very sensational moment.

“But you just can’t get too carried away with all the noise, because at the end of the day I probably do that finish 100 times on the training ground.

“So it’s no different with the fans (here). But the fans backing you there is just crazy.”

Ngumoha was born in Newham in East London on August 29, 2008 and turns 17 on Friday.

He joined Chelsea’s academy at the age of eight and moved to Liverpool in the summer of 2024.

Ngumoha said: “I’m 16 but I don’t want my age to show that I can’t play with the older players.

“I want to prove that I can play with people not just my age, many ages above.

“People at the club are always helping me and I’m always learning and improving.

“Normally, last season especially, the Academy coaches and even the first-team coaches, are always saying, ‘Make the back post, make the back post’.

“The fact that I made the back post is just crazy…when I saw it with Mo (Salah) and then Dom (Szoboszlai) putting it through his legs, I was like one-v-one and I just smashed it.”

Ngumoha’s winner came after Liverpool had let slip a two-goal lead against 10-man Newcastle, who had Anthony Gordon sent off at the end of the first half.

He said: “The mentality is one thing that shouldn’t get overlooked.

“Being mentally strong, us coming back and really believing in ourselves, that’s what the champions are about.”

Irishnews.com