![\"Steven](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_steven-gerrard-tntJPG.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLiverpool legend Steven Gerrard is adamant that Rio Ngumoha needs to come into the starting line-up after a stellar cameo against Wolves – with Cody Gakpo the man who should make way<\/p>\n
Steven Gerrard has cited an attacking change he wants to see at Liverpool(Image: TNT Sports)<\/p>\n
Steven Gerrard has urged Arne Slot to axe Cody Gakpo<\/a> and replace him with Liverpool<\/a> youngster Rio Ngumoha who “did more in a short space of time” off the bench than the Dutchman.<\/p>\n The teenager has continued to blossom at Anfield, enjoying a breakout moment earlier this season when he scored a late winner against Newcastle<\/a>. He was brought on at Wolves and immediately posed a serious threat despite Liverpool’s late loss.<\/p>\n Ngumoha saw one effort pushed onto the post whilst he also produced a stunning delivery for Virgil van Dijk, who should’ve done more with his headed attempt. And now Gerrard wants to see the 17-year-old given a rare start when the Reds play Wolves in the FA Cup.<\/p>\n The Reds icon told TNT Sports<\/a>: “For 65 minutes Liverpool were desperate tonight, really poor, didn\u2019t create enough, didn\u2019t play at the right speed or the right tempo, didn\u2019t have enough quality.<\/p>\n “He has to start Ngumoha now. He has to start him because he\u2019s coming on and he\u2019s doing more in a short cameo in a short space of time than Gakpo\u2019s doing in 65, 70 minutes. \u2018He deserves to start now. He\u2019s got to start the kid on Friday night [in the FA Cup<\/a>].”<\/p>\n READ MORE: Virgil van Dijk furious with Liverpool teammate vs Wolves as Champions League chance missed<\/a>READ MORE: Wolves STUN Liverpool late on as Arne Slot’s side blow golden opportunity – 5 talking points<\/a><\/p>\n Slot has previously urged caution over Ngumoha’s development, insisting he is getting the necessary minutes at his age. Liverpool’s frontline has struggled despite their stellar names with Gakpo yet to hit double figures this season despite being a regular.<\/p>\n Gerrard was also critical of his former side’s performance, especially during the opening 45 minutes, calling out their defensive frailties and their lack of productivity in attack as their Champions League<\/a> hopes took another hit at Molineux. He said: “The first half [against Wolves<\/a>] was a complete waste from a Liverpool<\/a> point of view. No urgency, no ball speed change when you got into the final third of the pitch, there wasn\u2019t much quality or penetration.<\/p>\n Rio Ngumoha was a standout for Liverpool off the bench despite their loss at Wolves<\/p>\n “The other thing is they\u2019ve got to stop conceding really poor goals. It was a basic ball up to a target man, a focal point, you\u2019ve got a two versus one that\u2019s got to be dealt with then you\u2019ve got the chance to make a last-ditch tackle that they don\u2019t make. Then the second goal is a poor clearance from the goalkeeper and there\u2019s no reaction.”<\/p>\n “If they want to progress in the FA Cup, they have to defend a lot better, they can\u2019t just blame, \u2018oh, we didn\u2019t create enough in the final third\u2019, you\u2019ve got to stop conceding goals the other way. They\u2019re much improved lately, they\u2019ve missed a big opportunity tonight.”<\/p>\n Join our new WhatsApp community<\/a> and receive your daily dose of Mirror<\/a> Football<\/a> content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.<\/a><\/p>\n Content cannot be displayed without consent<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard is adamant that Rio Ngumoha needs to come into the starting line-up after a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":518150,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,78578,596,7886,85,55068],"class_list":["post-518149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cody-gakpo","tag-football","tag-liverpool-fc","tag-sports","tag-steven-gerrard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=518149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518149\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/518150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=518149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=518149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=518149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Rio](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/0_GettyImages-2264637827.jpg\")
<\/p>\n