Robbie Fowler and Daniel Sturridge were in agreement on the performance of Rio Ngumoha as Liverpool came from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 in the Champions League

Former Liverpool strikers Robbie Fowler and Daniel Sturridge are in agreement about Reds starlet Rio Ngumoha after his "magnificent" performance for the Reds against Villarreal.

Ngumoha collected two assists as Andoni Iraola's side came from behind to win 4-3, with Alexis Mac Allister netting a brace and Florian Wirtz impressing off the bench in the second half too. Liverpool made six changes to its starting XI, but managed to maintain its perfect Champions League record.

Creating several chances and skipping past his marker with ease almost every time he received the ball, Ngumoha took another step forward after he played well against Brentford last weekend.

"It wasn’t a statement performance from Liverpool, but it was a statement performance from Rio," Fowler said on Amazon Prime.

"I think we said early in the game that Liverpool were out of sorts, not playing really well, they were sloppy and giving the ball away, but there was one player you could count on in that first half, that could make something happen, and he carried on in the second half.

"He (made) a big, big difference. When Florian Wirtz came on, he was a big big player [too], but for the full 70 minutes that he was on, Rio Ngumoha was outstanding."

Sturridge viewed Ngumoha's performance along similar lines, pointing out that he is performing on a much more consistent basis than you would expect for a player of that age.

"Ngumoha was magnificent tonight — such a threat, and he dedicated himself to his tasks," Sturridge said.

"On the ball, this kid has so much potential, and I say kid, but he’s a young man. He has so much quality, and it’s stuff that you can’t teach, to be honest.

"What he does with the ball at his feet, that is God-given ability, and his hard work on the training pitch, doing things day in and day out, and being ruthless, is what he said in his interview, and I like that. He wants to be decisive, and I love that about him."

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And former Reds boss Rafa Benitez, who won this competition in 2005, also got in on the act.

"I saw Ngumoha before, and to be fair, today he was much better," the Spaniard outlined. "The last game that I saw him, he wasn’t passing players so easily; today he was ruthless, he was cunning, and he was passing players.

"You talk about his position on the left side and the right side. I think on the right side he can pass players wide, and if you go wide you cannot cover, so he can make crosses, he can make passes. Maybe he’ll score less goals but I think he can make a difference."