Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk hails Rio Ngumoha's 'dream debut'

Monday - 25/08/2025 18:00

Virgil van Dijk described Liverpool Rio Ngumoha's first Premier League appearance as a "dream debut" after the teenager's dramatic late winner at Newcastle.

ESPN

Aug 26, 2025, 03:09 AM

Rio Ngumoha's stoppage-time winner earned Liverpool all three points at St. James' Park. George Wood/Getty Images

Virgil van Dijk described Liverpool Rio Ngumoha's first Premier League appearance as a "dream debut" after the teenager's dramatic late winner at Newcastle on Monday.

The 16-year-old came off the bench to score deep into stoppage time in Monday's Premier League encounter at St. James' Park as the champions snatched a 3-2 victory after 10-man Newcastle had battled back from 2-0 down.

Where Ngumoha's goal ranks

With his stoppage-time winner against Newcastle on Monday, Liverpool teenager Rio Ngumoha became the fourth youngest scorer in Premier League history.

Player	Age
James Vaughan	16y 270d
James Milner	16y 356d
Wayne Rooney	16y 360d
Rio Ngumoha	16y 361d

Van Dijk told Sky Sports: "It is a dream debut for him. It was a perfect technique. We stayed calm towards the end as well, tried to find the right solution in order to score a goal, and we did it. I'm very pleased for Rio."

With his late strike, Ngumoha, who turns 17 on Friday, became the fourth-youngest goalscorer in the Premier League, behind James Vaughan, James Milner and Wayne Rooney.

Information from PA and ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this report

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