Arne Slot compares Rio Ngumoha to Mohamed Salah after Liverpool beat Fulham
By Andy Hampson, Press Association
Arne Slot compared Rio Ngumoha to Mohamed Salah after the 17-year-old set Liverpool on the way to a 2-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday.
Ngumoha opened the scoring with a fine strike before old hand Salah secured three much-needed Premier League points at Anfield.
It was Ngumoha’s first goal since a dramatic late winner at Newcastle in August and his first in front of a home crowd.
Liverpool manager Slot said: “He’s not only the long-term future but also the near future.
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“I said one or two months ago his playing time would increase because he’s got stronger and stronger.
“He’s shown that it wasn’t only a nice trick but there was more and more end product to what he did, and more power, which is needed if you play against the best defenders in the world.
“I don’t think anyone is surprised he scored his first (Anfield) goal. He has such a special quality you don’t see very often in football anymore, dominating the one-v-one situations.
“That’s what he did when he scored his goal, making the ball free by twisting and turning and then hitting it in like a Mo Salah finish.
“It’s pleasing to see that he did what we know makes him special.”
Liverpool’s victory bought Slot some respite from the pressure that has grown throughout an underwhelming season and intensified particularly after heavy losses to Manchester City and Paris St Germain in the last week.
Slot must now decide whether to start Ngumoha in Tuesday’s challenging Champions League return against PSG at Anfield, when the Reds will attempt to overturn a 2-0 deficit.
The Dutchman said: “I think he is ready. The question is can he do this two days later? Would he be able to play at that level? Yes.
“It’s not like at the beginning of the season when he was a young player getting experience of the first team. Now he is someone I can pick for any game, so also Tuesday.”
Slot added, however, that midfielder Curtis Jones was doubtful after being forced off against Fulham with a groin injury.
Ngumoha’s 36th-minute strike, followed by Salah’s 256th goal for the club four minutes later, rewarded Liverpool for a dominant first half.
Fulham rallied after the break but were unable to pull one back to set up a nervy finish.
Cottagers manager Marco Silva said: “The game was decided in five minutes and our approach was not aggressive enough on and off the ball.
“We gave Liverpool the chance to build up their attacks too easy. That was the reason why they had the chances and were in control of the game.
“The second half was completely different. We created much more chances as well but we were not ruthless enough, as with a goal we can create a different scenario.”
