Josh Lawless
Arne Slot's brilliant message to Liverpool hero Rio Ngumoha was captured on camera after he scored a stunning winner on his Premier League debut against Liverpool.
2-0 up through strikes from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike, Liverpool were pegged back to 2-2 by 10-man Newcastle after goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Will Osula - who levelled matters in the 88th minute.
But there was another dramatic twist as 16-year-old Ngumoha came off the bench to snatch victory in the 110th minute.
The winger ghosted in and came up with a glorious first-time finish after Mo Salah's cross was dummied in exquisite fashion by Dominik Szoboszlai, becoming the fourth-youngest goalscorer in Premier League history.
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Slot embraced him afterwards and in footage shared on both the Premier League and Liverpool's official Instagram pages, could be heard telling Ngumoha, “What a moment, enjoy it".
He then pushed the youngster forward to bask in his glory with the travelling fans who were gathered in the top tier.
Ngumoha sitll had go through running exercises after the game with the rest of the Liverpool subs as part of a warm-down.
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But after seeing his excellent performances in pre-season, Slot hailed Ngumoha's special talent and confidence to come in and contribute with a clutch moment before he turns 17 on Friday.
"He’s a player that can finish really well for his age,” Slot said.
"How firm his shot was, you don’t see this often for a 16-year-old.
“I did hear someone afterwards in the dressing room, I won’t say who, said they would have taken that ball, have a first touch, then finish it off. But he is so confident.
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“That’s what I like, because the first ball he got he wasn’t afraid. He immediately took someone on. When the second player came, he got across him, and for him to score that goal is not completely a coincidence because for his age he is an amazing finisher.”
Rio Ngumoha had a dream Premier League debut for Liverpool. Image: Getty
Former Chelsea youngster Ngumoha made his first start last season in a 4-0 FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley and will be hoping for more gametime this term after what he served up on Monday night.
Liverpool are back in action on Sunday when they take on title rivals Arsenal in a huge clash at Anfield.