Liverpool: Arne Slot told one major change he must make for Wolves revenge mission | OneFootball

Steven Gerrard urges Reds boss to commit to important selection decision for quick FA Cup return to Molineux

Liverpool must start Rio Ngumoha in a bid to gain swift revenge on Wolves this week, according to Anfield legend Steven Gerrard.

Mohamed Salah did then seize on a mistake by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde to draw Liverpool level as he finished with the outside of his boot for a first Premier League goal for 122 days after home substitute Rodrigo Gomes had sparked a previously drab game into life by scoring against the run of play.

However, it was not enough for the visitors to take a point back to Merseyside as Brazilian midfielder Andre then struck in stoppage time with the help of a huge deflection off Joe Gomez to condemn Liverpool to a sobering defeat against the top-flight’s bottom club, halting a resurgent run of four successive victories across all competitions and damaging their bid for a top-five finish this term.

Iconic ex-Reds captain Gerrard agreed with current skipper Virgil van Dijk as he delivered a scathing assessment of his former club’s performance in the Midlands, insisting that the time has now come for Ngumoha to start ahead of Gakpo in attack.

The exciting teenage winger has already become a fan favourite after swapping Chelsea for Liverpool, delivering a number of eye-catching substitute displays this season, scoring a dramatic 100th-minute winner against Newcastle in August and quickly earning his first professional contract.

England youth international Ngumoha, 17, has made only three senior starts so far, all in the domestic cups, but Gerrard believes that number must now increase - starting when Arne Slot’s side make a quick return to Molineux on Friday night in the fifth round of the FA Cup, when a place in the quarter-finals will be up for grabs.

“For 65 minutes, Liverpool were desperate tonight, really poor,” Gerrard said in his role as a pundit on TNT Sports. “They didn’t create enough, they didn’t play at the right speed or the right tempo. They didn’t have enough quality.

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

“He deserves a start now. He’s got to start the kid on Friday night.”