Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has praised Mohamed Salah for helping Rio Ngumoha develop into one of the clubs most exciting young players following his impressive performance against Villarreal. The 18-year-old registered two assists as Liverpool came from 2-0 down to beat the Spanish side 4-2 in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.Ngumoha has impressed on the right wing this season despite typically playing on the opposite flank, with Van Dijk revealing how Salahs experience has helped the youngster adapt.Van Dijk believes Liverpools senior players have played an important role in Ngumohas progress, highlighting Salah and Cody Gakpo as two particularly influential figures.A few senior players [have helped him], the Liverpool captain said.I would say [Cody Gakpo] is definitely part of that. But everyone has that role in order to help the youngsters in the group, the players who have not had so much experience.Everyone is chipping in but for him to work with Mo last year was obviously massive as Mo was one of the best wingers at the club and experienced everything so why not soak in all the information and show it on the pitch and show your own qualities?I think he has shown it this season but there is still much more to come.Ngumoha was a constant problem for Villarreals defence at Anfield, using his pace and movement to help Liverpool recover from their disastrous start.Hes pretty electric at times and he showed it again, Van Dijk added.He was a complete threat constantly and their defender had a tough time.Liverpool captain admits mistakes against VillarrealWhile Ngumoha earned praise for his attacking display, Van Dijk was critical of his own performance.The Dutch defender made an early mistake which allowed Georges Mikautadze to open the scoring before Sergi Cardona doubled Villarreals advantage.Liverpool eventually fought back through goals from Alexis Mac Allister, Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz, but Van Dijk admitted he had made life difficult for his teammates.It was a terrible start, he said.I think the saying is you fight an uphill battle and as a defender it is pretty difficult to come back from it. I tried but it was a bad day at the office personally but we did it together with 11 players. We turned it around and thats the main thing.Unfortunately in life these things can sometimes happen. Fortunately it didnt happen too many times in my Liverpool career but tonight I was not the best.But we won and its not about me, its all about us. We got the three points. Topics Liverpool F.C. Mohamed Salah Rio Ngumoha Virgil van Dijk If you enjoy reading this article, you can help support our independent football journalism by adding 101 Great Goals as a preferred source You Should Also Read Win tickets to a Champions League game with bet365 Jon Fisher 21st October, 2026 Andoni Iraola warns Liverpool players cannot relax despite fighting back in Champions League win Mitch Fretton 20th October, 2026 Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal: Report, result and goals as nervy Reds get over the line Mitch Fretton 20th October, 2026 WATCH: Van Dijk howler gifts Villarreal shock early lead against Liverpool Mitch Fretton 20th October, 2026 LIVE Liverpool v Villarreal: Commentary, updates, goals and stats Jon Fisher 20th October, 2026 Liverpool v Villarreal: Confirmed team news and line-ups as Reds return to Champions League action Mitch Fretton 20th October, 2026
