Slot praises “special” Ngumoha after late winner | OneFootball

Arne Slot says it was “special” for 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha to score Liverpool’s 100th minute winnger against Newcastle.

The teenager came on in the 89th minute at 2-2 when ten man Newcastle had Liverpool defending deep in their own box and yet, with the team’s first shot on target since the 45th minute, he scored the winner.

That goal makes Ngumoha the Red’s youngest ever Premier League scorer and only the second 16-year-old to score a winning goal in the division alongside Wayne Rooney.

Slot spoke about the young forward’s moment: “It’s special for him to score a goal in a moment like this.”

Newcastle dominated most of the match, Liverpool only had two shots on target in the second half and Slot praised the way the Magpies played.

“We were quite calm in the build-up, but when we ended up with our attackers they should have held the ball longer, and when they tried to force a pass and the ball went behind and then we had to defend a long goal kick again.

“We couldn’t control the game but that was mainly to do with their playing style and how hard they made it for us.”

Although the Liverpool boss believes that Liverpool could have played better, he was proud of the mentality his players showed to get over the line.

“To win away at Newcastle you definitely need to have quality, especially in an atmosphere like this and not football quality, because that’s not what we showed today, apart from the last goal we scored. That looked a little bit like what I see on a daily basis on the training ground.

“But to have the mentality to fight here in such a hostile stadium, that definitely is something you also need if you want to compete in the end. Winning is something else, but at least competing, you definitely need to have this mentality. And that’s what we showed.