The 19-year-old midfielder made his first Anfield start in the Champions League as Liverpool beat Villarreal 4-3 in a thriller on Tuesday night.

Having fallen 2-0 behind during the first half, the Reds surged back and took the lead through goals from Alexis Mac Allister (two), Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz.

The Spanish visitors scored again late on but Andoni Iraola’s charges held firm to clinch a third straight victory in the league phase.

13:44

Extended highlights: Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal

Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com post-match, Nyoni reflected on the turnaround and how it was achieved, his own development and the influence of senior players.

Read the full interview below.

On the impressiveness of Liverpool’s comeback…

I think the mentality of the team was top. Obviously, we didn’t start well but now we need to improve and try not to concede goals early. But at the end of the day, everyone pulled through and got the victory.

On what the head coach said at half-time…

There was no panic at all. Everyone believes in each other and I feel like when the team morale is like this, none of us can panic and we believe in our quality. You saw in the second half how we changed the game and upped the tempo a bit more, which is what we needed to do. And scored the goals.

On how it felt to be playing in the Champions League…

It’s special. I’ve had to wait but I feel like it’s all part of the process. I’ve learned a lot over the last few years, even just being on the sideline watching the rest. My teammates help me, especially the senior players, they help me a lot when I’m on the pitch and they try to make my job as easy as possible. I can’t ask for more.

On the quality of Mac Allister alongside him in midfield…

We all know Macca’s quality, he’s won a World Cup. He’s a top player. Playing with him, he helps me a lot. He’s one of the senior players that really pushes me and allows me to keep doing what I’m doing and do my thing. It’s important as a young player to have senior players that are role models to us. You can see that with Rio [Ngumoha], with [Lewis] Koumas, with [James] McConnell, everyone else – every time we step on the pitch, they’re always there to support us. I think that’s the main thing.

On a crop of youngsters coming through together…

It’s good being together. We know it’s not easy, because this is one of the best clubs in the world. So we know we have to compete with top players. I feel like being with top players every day pushes even more to work hard, because to play for Liverpool the standards are very high and we all know this.

On having patience and trusting he’ll get opportunities…

Yeah, 100 per cent. When you’re at a big club like Liverpool, there’s a lot of players that come in. A lot of top players as well. It helps us and it gives us that extra drive to push on.

On getting ready to go again on Sunday against Brighton & Hove Albion…

Brighton is obviously going to be a tough game. We have to be mentally ready. As long as everyone is mentally ready and recovers well, I think we’ll be alright.