Liverpool made it three wins out of three in the Champions League this season after coming from two first-half goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3.

Rio Ngumoha and Alexis Mac Allister stole the show, claiming two assists and two goals respectively to haul the Reds back into the lead.

Defence

Alisson Becker: 5 – Could have done more to stop Georges Mikautadze from scoring after Virgil van Dijk’s mistake, but couldn’t be blamed for the second or the third, and did not do much else of note.

Ronald Araujo: 5 – Lasted only 45 minutes again, and at times looked absolutely bewildered by his instructions at right-back. Far too often wandered infield, leaving a gaping hole at right-back for Liverpool, including most alarmingly for the second Villarreal goal. Made up for it – and vastly improved his score – by following Rio Ngumoha’s ball in to nod the Reds level with the final touch of the half and his last of the game. Extra point for an accidental in-crowd celebration after his momentum took him over the advertising hoardings.

Jeremy Jacquet: 5 – Should not escape criticism for the opening half hour, and he seemed lost when following Villarreal players into midfield, leaving far too much space in behind. He was better than Van Dijk, and it was not all bad, but this was his worst display since arriving at the club.

Virgil van Dijk: 3 – Although he did inevitably improve as the game went on, it is hard to score Van Dijk without taking his opening 25 minutes into account. The mistake was bad enough but the captain could still have saved himself by rushing back to the goal line. Instead, he simply stood and watched. From there he got worse, and after his diabolical display in LASK last time out, this was another really concerning outing.

Kostas Tsimikas: 5 – Tsimikas was as bad as anybody initially, and was potentially the sloppiest Liverpool player in possession. However, his set-piece delivery is a get out of jail free card at times, and after claiming two assists at LASK, the Greek claimed another again here, delivering a pinpoint cross onto Mac Allister’s head. Was genuinely good in the second-half and deserves credit for that.

Midfield

Alexis Mac Allister: 8 – Even with Liverpool looking sluggish in the opening half hour, Mac Allister did his work well. Loves a header in the Champions League and did brilliantly to get the Reds back in it with a glancing effort. Finished emphatically after a long-range one-two with Rio Ngumoha to complete the comeback in the second-half to underline his status as Iraola’s most important midfielder by a distance.

Trey Nyoni: 6 – After his longest Premier League outing to date on Saturday, this was another positive step for Nyoni even if he had some poor moments. Went close to a first Liverpool goal with a rasping effort from distance which deserved to find the net.

Ryan Gravenberch: 6 – Started the game at No. 10 and ended it at right-back. Did some good stuff on the ball and seems to have found his ability to swan past opposition tackles again. Not as good as against Man City or LASK, but still a positive outing for Gravenberch.

Attack

Rio Ngumoha: 9 (Man of the Match) – Ngumoha earned praise from Alan Shearer for being the only Liverpool player to turn up in the opening half an hour, and he continued that form throughout the full game. Finished with two assists and could have had a handful more. Had the beating of his full-back all night long in an absolutely sensational display. Easily Liverpool’s best player in what was his best performance in a red shirt so far.

Lewis Koumas: 4 – You don’t want to be too harsh on Koumas, but it is clear that he is not of the quality of those around him. Worked hard as ever, but nothing stuck. Should not be starting more games.

Cody Gakpo: 7 – Looked like he’d never been away as he picked up where he left off on the Liverpool left. Set up Florian Wirtz’s goal with a nice slided pass and linked well with the German all night. Great to have him back.

Substitutes

Florian Wirtz: 8 – Wirtz’s best outing of the season without a shadow of a doubt as he rolled in his first of the campaign. Visibly improved Liverpool before he scored, finding good pockets mainly on the left and making some good runs off the ball. Ended up as the match-winner and deservedly so.

Alexander Isak: 6 – Looked extremely sharp when he arrived, pulling left and right and showing some promising link-up with Wirtz and Bradley Barcola.

Joe Gomez: 4 – Gomez was poor when he came on against LASK and was off form again here, shanking a couple of clearances and adding to a general feeling of unease at the back.

Bradley Barcola: 4 – It felt all set for Barcola to come on and wreak havoc against a beleaguered Villarreal defence, but he never really got going as a replacement for Ngumoha.

James McConnell: N/A –