Latest news with #U18PremierLeagueCup
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Steve McManaman names 'amazing' Liverpool prospect but issues 'carried away' warning
Former Liverpool player Steve McManaman talked up Rio Ngumoha but warned against getting carried away with his lofty potential. Ngumoha made a high-profile move from Chelsea to Liverpool aged just 15 last summer and made his senior debut for the Reds just four months after his 16th birthday, starting in the FA Cup third round against Accrington Stanley. The youngster recently came up against former club Chelsea as Liverpool's Under-18s mounted a dramatic late comeback to win 3-2 in the U18 Premier League Cup, scoring a fine equalizer late in the game. There is plenty of hype surrounding the teenager, who was the subject of interest from a host of top clubs last year, but McManaman is keen for him to stay grounded. READ MORE: Mohamed Salah 'wanted to leave Liverpool due to Jurgen Klopp' but stayed because of Arne Slot READ MORE: Luis Enrique warns PSG is in 'best moment' as Anfield claims rejected ahead of Liverpool tie 'He scored a nice goal against Chelsea the other day, of course that was his old team, so I don't know whether he (Ngumoha) felt he had a point to prove," McManaman said on the Aldo Meets Podcast. "Funnily enough, I saw him on Friday, as I said, and I said to him, 'You know, don't let yourself get carried away' - because of the story, because of what happened with the transfer coming into Liverpool, and there was still a little bit of bad blood there, and his family wants them to do well. You just have to make sure he didn't get carried away. 'Playing the way he did and scoring the goal and setting one up really late on in the game, I think he'll be very happy. As I said, we always have one, don't we? We brought Ben Doak down and he was the little skilful dribbler, and he's going to be a great player, and he's doing really well at Middlesbrough. 'He (Ngumoha) is only 16 and you can't get carried away with him. He's got really nice traits. He'll work hard, he's in the right place, and let's hope he develops exactly how everybody wants him to develop. "He's 16, you don't want to say he's amazing. His ability is fantastic, but you just want to say, 'He's cool, and he's doing the right things' - and that's all you can say at the moment, because people can get injured. Kaide Gordon had a bad injury, was out for 16 months. You're loath to get carried away with the kids, because you know what can easily happen so let's hope they can keep progressing and hopefully be in the first team in the future."
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liverpool suffers semi-final heartbreak as Rio Ngumoha quiet and summer signing offers glimpse
Liverpool U18s have crashed out of the U18 Premier League Cup at the semi-final stage, losing 3-0 at home to Reading. Rio Ngumoha was involved in the game but the Reds couldn't ever get a proper footing. Reading crashed a shot against the bar in the first half and Ngumoha twisted and turned past his marker before lifting a shot over the top from close range — albeit on an angle — but the first half was limited in terms of chances. It was tight and there were more foul throws than genuine opportunities to break the deadlock. Joe Bradshaw, playing on the right wing for Liverpool, has scored 13 times so far this season. Here, though, he didn't have much in the way of an opportunity. Likewise, Josh Sonnie-Lambie, playing as the Liverpool number nine, was isolated. READ MORE: Luis Enrique warns PSG is in 'best moment' as Anfield claims rejected ahead of Liverpool tie READ MORE: Mohamed Salah 'wanted to leave Liverpool due to Jurgen Klopp' but stayed because of Arne Slot George Booth, on the hour mark, scored the first goal of the game when the ball dropped for him to shoot. A low effort deflected amid a crowd of bodies and crept into the corner of Kornel Miscuir's goal. A few minutes later, the Reading lead was doubled through Emmanuel Osho. When the ball was pulled back to the visiting number nine inside the penalty area, he smashed a shot into the top corner. Amara Nallo, who scored an own-goal last weekend and was sent off minutes into his senior debut against PSV in the Champions League, had already been booked for hauling back Kiyan Coke-Miles-Smith. That was at 0-0, and two goals later, he conceded a penalty kick for a trip, which Coke-Miles-Smith converted. He did, though, avoid a second booking. Alvin Ayman, signed from Wolves last summer, impressed with his technical ability in the center of the field, but his influence waned a little in the second half. He signed his first professional contract at Anfield just a few weeks ago and has become a thriving midfielder having played at full-back earlier in his career. Teenage talent Trey Nyoni has dropped down into the U18 age group at times in this tournament, but he was selected for the first-team trip to PSG in the Champions League, so wasn't involved here. Without him, Ayman did well to dribble out of tight spaces under pressure, but Reading slowly grew more and more in control. Liverpool had lost its last four games in a row in this age group heading into the fixture. It has now crashed out of the cup with a scoreline that looked unlikely at half-time, with Reading taking on West Ham United in the final.
