Two down after 29 minutes, Liverpool won 4–3: Gravenberch moved to right-back, Wirtz came on, and Ngumoha ran at Villarreal all night.
The numbers
| Liverpool | Villarreal CF | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 53% | 47% |
| Shots | 22 | 14 |
| On target | 7 | 5 |
| xG | 2.37 | 1.61 |
| Corners | 7 | 2 |
| Touches in opp. box | 44 | 25 |
Result the chances deserved: Liverpool 55% / 19% / Villarreal CF 26% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Araújo, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Tsimikas, Mac Allister, Nyoni, Ngumoha, Gravenberch, Gakpo, Koumas.
Villarreal CF (4-2-3-1): Gulácsi, Mouriño, Navarro, Veiga, Cardona, Gueye, Comesaña, Buchanan, Saliba, Moleiro, Mikautadze.
Villarreal subs: Oluwaseyi (46', Saliba), Foyth (54', Moleiro), Freeman (60', Buchanan), Ayoze Pérez (60', Mikautadze), Gerard Moreno (78', Comesaña) (FotMob; Sofascore has Freeman's change at 54'). Villarreal coach: Iñigo Pérez.
Booked: Moleiro (27'), Mouriño (41'). Referee: Szymon Marciniak. Line-ups from UEFA and FotMob.
Key moments, move by move
- A long ball comes forward from Villarreal's half and drops to Van Dijk.
- He tries to head it back to Alisson, but the header falls short (Liverpool FC, Opta Analyst).
- Mikautadze nips in ahead of the keeper and finishes low into the far corner (Sofascore): the second-earliest goal Liverpool have conceded at home in Europe (Opta Analyst).
- Villarreal break quickly through the middle (Liverpool FC).
- Saliba slips the ball into the run of Cardona, Villarreal's left-back (FotMob, Yahoo Sports).
- Nobody on Liverpool's right tracks him: Ngumoha didn't follow the run (Sky Sports).
- Cardona steers it past Alisson: Liverpool's earliest two-goal deficit in Europe since April 2016 (Opta Analyst).
- Tsimikas swings in a corner.
- Mac Allister rises above his marker in the six-yard area.
- His header loops past Gulácsi (Yahoo Sports): Liverpool are back in it.
- Ngumoha has the ball wide on the right.
- He delivers it beyond everyone to the back post.
- Cardona leaves it (Yahoo Sports) and Araújo, unmarked, heads in (Sky Sports). Level at half-time, and Araújo's last act: he went off at the break.
- Ngumoha gets the ball on the right and runs at the defence.
- He skips past two challenges (Liverpool FC).
- From near the byline he crosses low into the six-yard area.
- Mac Allister smashes it in off the underside of the bar (Yahoo Sports): his eighth Champions League goal, all of them at Anfield (Opta Analyst).
- Tsimikas steps in high on the left and intercepts (Sofascore).
- Gakpo carries it forward and picks out Wirtz (Liverpool FC).
- Wirtz, on at half-time, finishes low with his left foot into the bottom corner: his first goal of the season (Opta Analyst, Yahoo Sports).
- Ayoze Pérez, on at 60', has time to cross.
- The ball goes over the defence to the back post.
- Oluwaseyi volleys it in (Liverpool FC). Pérez also hit the post in the closing stages (Liverpool FC).
Liverpool's right side: lost in the first half, fixed at the break
- The problem. Liverpool started in a 4-2-3-1 with Araújo at right-back, Ngumoha in front of him and Gravenberch as the No 10 (FotMob). Iraola said Villarreal overloaded the middle "with three holding midfielders" and Moleiro, "who basically is another midfielder coming inside". Araújo had to follow Moleiro inside or leave him free. When Cardona, the left-back, ran past on that side, Ngumoha didn't track him: that was the second goal (Liverpool FC, Sky Sports).
- The first half. Villarreal were better until 2–0, and Iraola admitted it: "especially the first 30-35 minutes until the 2-0." They led on xG at half-time, 1.12 to 0.83 (Sofascore). Liverpool's way back came from dead balls and deliveries: Mac Allister headed in Tsimikas' corner, then Araújo headed in Ngumoha's ball to the back post.
- The switch. At half-time Wirtz came on for Araújo and Gravenberch dropped to right-back. Iraola: "Ronald was feeling uncomfortable following all the way", and Gravenberch "could do both jobs": follow a midfielder inside and still carry the ball forward. Wirtz took the space between the lines. He completed 34 of 38 passes, made three tackles and scored (Sofascore).
- Ngumoha, again and again. The 18-year-old stayed wide on the right and took his man on: seven of eight dribbles completed and two assists (Opta Analyst). Liverpool finished with 44 touches in Villarreal's box to 25 and 2.37 xG to 1.61 (FotMob). The cost showed late: Ayoze Pérez hit the post and Oluwaseyi scored at 87'.
Tactical scenes
Liverpool kept giving the ball to Ngumoha wide on the right with space to run at his full-back. He made the delivery for Araújo's equaliser and beat two men before setting up Mac Allister's second. Iraola said he was very difficult to stop one-on-one.
Evidence: Ngumoha completed 7 of 8 dribbles and made 2 assists, the youngest Liverpool player to score or assist in the Champions League (Opta Analyst); Sofascore credits him with 12 progressive carries and 1.13 expected assists. Liverpool had 44 touches in Villarreal's box to 25 (FotMob). Opta Analyst: Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal stats · Sofascore: Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal · FotMob match page
Iraola said Liverpool had started "too relaxed" and that against a side this good on the ball "you go full gas". After the break Liverpool pressed higher and won their duels. The fourth goal came from it: Tsimikas stepped in high on the left, and Gakpo and Wirtz finished the break.
Evidence: Villarreal led 1.12 to 0.83 on xG at half-time; over the whole game Liverpool made 2.37 to 1.58, so about 1.5 to 0.5 after the break. Liverpool won 73% of ground duels in the second half (Sofascore). Sofascore: Liverpool 4-3 Villarreal · Liverpool FC: Iraola's press conference
Recreate it in FM26
Liverpool · Iraola's second half: Gravenberch inside, Wirtz free · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Iraola's second half: Gravenberch inside, Wirtz free
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Alisson | Goalkeeper | Goalkeeper |
| RB | Gravenberch | Inverted Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Jacquet | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Van Dijk | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Tsimikas | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Mac Allister | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Nyoni | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Ngumoha | Winger | Wide Outlet Winger |
| AM | Wirtz | Free Role | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Gakpo | Inside Forward | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Koumas | Centre Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- DribblingEncouraged
- Progress ThroughRight
- Creative FreedomMore Expressive
- PatienceWork Ball Into Box
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- TacklingAggressive
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
The idea: A midfielder as an Inverted Full-Back who follows the opposite winger inside, a Free Role No 10, and a pure Winger on the same side who is left one-on-one. You need a right-back who is comfortable in midfield and a winger who wins his duels.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce the exact man-following job Gravenberch did, and the card shows the second-half side, not the starting XI (Araújo started at right-back, Gravenberch at No 10).
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Wirtz on at 35' (for Araújo), not at half-time, Kerkez on at 80' (for Tsimikas). Keep the shape and make the half-time switch earlier, then freshen the left-back for the last ten minutes. It doesn't change the result, but it shortens Villarreal's best spell and takes some sting out of the late cross. It moves Liverpool's win chance from 55% to 61% (xG 2.37–1.61 becomes 2.47–1.41). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Liverpool needed
Dominik Szoboszlai
Villarreal outnumbered Liverpool in midfield in the first half and Iraola said the press had to go "full gas". Szoboszlai is the midfielder who leads that press and covers ground behind it, so Gravenberch could have stayed at No 10.
Rico Lewis
Liverpool's problem was a right-back who had to follow a winger into midfield. Lewis plays exactly that hybrid role: a full-back who steps inside without the ball and plays like a midfielder with it, the job Gravenberch did after the break.
What the analysts said
“I think they’ve been much better than us, especially the first 30-35 minutes until the 2-0.”Andoni Iraola (Liverpool FC)
“Ronald was feeling uncomfortable following all the way.”Andoni Iraola on the half-time change (Liverpool FC)
“No, no, you go full gas and you go all the way or probably you are going to struggle without the ball.”Andoni Iraola (Liverpool FC)
“That’s the good thing with Rio, he’s still 18, he’s not the full package.”Andoni Iraola (Liverpool FC)
“When they're trailing, and they score, they always generate a huge reaction.”Iñigo Pérez, Villarreal coach (beIN Sports)
“It's up there with one of the best I've played.”Rio Ngumoha to Amazon Prime (Sky Sports)
Liverpool fixed their right side at half-time, and Ngumoha did the rest.
What's happening. Villarreal led 2–0 before the half-hour and deserved it. Liverpool levelled with two headers before the break and won it with two quick goals after the hour. They have won every Champions League game so far, but they have conceded three in each of the last two.
How it works. Villarreal's left winger came inside to make an extra midfielder. That leaves the right-back with a choice: follow him and leave space outside, or stay and let him go free. Araújo couldn't do both. Gravenberch, a midfielder by trade, could: he tucked in without the ball and carried it forward with it. With Wirtz between the lines, Ngumoha got the ball wide and one-on-one. The cost: a midfielder at right-back, and crosses to the back post late on.
What the shots say. Sofascore has Villarreal ahead on xG at half-time and Liverpool well ahead after it. One reading: the switch worked, and the second half is the real Liverpool. The other: two of Liverpool's four goals came from headers at set pieces and deliveries, and Villarreal still made more than 1.5 xG at Anfield. Brighton will punish the same gaps.