Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has advised Rio Ngumoha to keep working hard and remain humble, after the 16-year-old scored a decisive 100th-minute goal in the dramatic win against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.
The Premier League champions looked to be on course to drop two points after surrendering a 2-0 lead, and when 11 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the 90 minutes were signaled by the fourth official.
Also, it looked as though Newcastle was the more likely team to go on and win it — despite being down to 10 men due to Anthony Gordon’s first-half red card.
Ngumoha, making his first appearance in the top flight, though, needed just four minutes to score his first goal as he swept home a low cross.
“It’s a dream debut for him,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “I think that whole attack was quite good. Harvey started it, the dummy [from Szoboszlai], it was the perfect attack.
“We stayed calm towards the end and tried to find the right solution. I’m very pleased for Rio. He has to keep working hard and stay humble, but he has to enjoy tonight as he can’t take it for granted.
“I’m sure with the players we have, he’ll be back at training tomorrow having a hard session.”
