“I couldn’t ask for much more” – Rio Ngumoha reflects on first Champions League start | OneFootball

Rio Ngumoha Sets Out Liverpool’s Fulham Aim as Andoni Iraola’s Demands Take Hold

Liverpool go into Saturday’s meeting with Fulham carrying something they badly needed, momentum. Two wins, one in the Premier League and one in the Champions League, do not prove anything on their own, but they do change the tone around a squad learning new ideas under Andoni Iraola.

Rio Ngumoha has been one of the more interesting early stories of this campaign. Young players talk a lot. The useful ones say something clear. His message ahead of Fulham was simple enough, Liverpool have started to find rhythm and now they need to keep it. There is no point treating wins over Ipswich Town and Atletico Madrid as isolated events. The job is to turn them into a run.

Speaking to liverpoolfc.com, Ngumoha framed the week in direct terms: “I think we can’t ask for much more of a better start [to the week] really,” and, “[A] first win in the Premier League [and then a] first one in the Champions League. Hopefully we can get three wins this week against Fulham. It’s been good.”

That is the right attitude. No grand declarations, no self-congratulation. Just the obvious point, if you win twice, the third game matters more because it gives shape to the first two.

Andoni Iraola influence already visible

The more revealing part of Ngumoha’s comments concerned Iraola. New coaches always talk about intensity, work and collective discipline. Players usually repeat the script. What matters is whether the details sound specific. In this case, they do.

Ngumoha said, “Like I said, the gaffer, [for him] to put faith in me and to show me that he believes in my abilities and qualities to help the team get a win is really positive. I couldn’t ask for much more.” That is a player responding to trust, and Liverpool need that from their younger options this season.

Photo: IMAGO

He also offered a clearer picture of what the head coach and staff want from the squad. “We’ve always had the togetherness and also out in the training pitch the gaffer, Tommy [Elphick], we have Coops [Shaun Cooper], we have Pablo [de la Torre] as well, they all tell us we have to press and we have to work hard. But they install the mentality between us and this season we’re going to do stuff that’s different and special. It’s been good.”

Again, straightforward. Press, work, repeat. That is Iraola’s football in blunt terms. Liverpool have the athletic profile to do it, but ideas only matter when players accept the running and responsibility that come with them. Ngumoha sounds fully on board.

He was equally clear about his own brief under the new boss: “It’s been a pleasure so far. In pre-season he was just getting his ideas across to me and the team and what he wants. For me, he wants me to be direct on the ball. He knows my qualities and if I can just get at a man quicker and help put a ball in the box or get a shot off, then that’s my job really. Then off the ball as well, you have to work off the ball, whether it’s tracking a full-back and stuff. It’s been good.”

No mystery there. Beat your man, create danger, then do the ugly work without the ball. For a wide player at a top club, that is the minimum requirement.

Rio Ngumoha growth offers Liverpool real depth

Ngumoha’s first Champions League start clearly meant something to him. He did not try to hide that. “It was crazy. In the morning when I knew when the gaffer put out the team, I saw my name there. I was like, ‘Yeah, today’s going to be a good day!’ A first start in the Champions League, especially at Anfield and against a good side. To get the three points and just hear the fans, like I said the other day, Anfield was roaring, I couldn’t ask for much more.”

That excitement is natural. The more important point is whether Liverpool can trust him regularly. His flexibility helps. He admitted the right flank is less natural, saying, “I think on the right I’ve been all right. It hasn’t been my natural position but every day on the training pitch I’m just trying to improve and get better on the right. Because if I can play both sides then it gives the manager to think that, ‘OK, Rio can play on the left and the right and he can do both positions well, so he can help the team.'”

That matters. Top sides need attackers who remove excuses from team selection. If a winger can play either side, press properly and attack space directly, he stays useful. Ngumoha also pointed to the wider competition in those positions, mentioning Cody Gakpo, Victor Munoz and Bradley Barcola. His verdict was sensible: “I think it’s healthy competition.” It usually is, provided the standard rises with it.

He added, “If we’re getting results then at the end of the day we all play for the team and we all want the team to do well. I think just having that competition is there, it keeps us on our toes as well because you can’t get too complacent. It’s really good.” That is exactly how Liverpool must view squad depth this season.

Fulham test can extend early-season momentum

Fulham are not a side to take lightly, but Liverpool at Anfield will expect to control the game. Ngumoha has his own memory of this fixture. Last season brought a landmark moment and he has not forgotten it. “That was a special day. My first goal at Anfield and I think it was my first Premier League start as well. Hopefully we can just repeat ourselves, hopefully get a start and help the team with either a goal or assist – because assists are just as important as well.”

There is no need to dress this up. Liverpool need the points, they need another assertive display, and they need to show that Iraola’s methods are beginning to bite. Ngumoha’s comments suggest a squad buying into the workload, the pressing and the internal competition. That is encouraging, but words are cheap in August and September. Fulham is another chance to show the structure is becoming habit.

Ngumoha also looked beyond this weekend, saying, “If we can get the three points on the weekend – hopefully – then that leads into the League Cup [against Tottenham] and then the last game on Sunday against Bournemouth before the international break. It would be ideal if we could win all of them. The Premier League is tough, it’s the toughest league in the world, but I think we’re more than capable to definitely give the fans what they want and the manager and show everyone why this season we’re not coming to play about, let’s say.”

Fair enough. The schedule is there, the opportunity is obvious, and Liverpool have put themselves in a position where one more win would give these opening steps some weight. That is all Saturday is about.