Mac Allister double and Ngumoha assists fire Liverpool to thrilling 4-3 Champions League comeback over Villarreal

Liverpool stage remarkable comeback at Anfield

Liverpool recovered from two goals down to beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield on Tuesday, keeping their 100% record in the Champions League in emphatic style. Alexis Mac Allister struck twice, while Ronald Araújo and Florian Wirtz added further goals before Tani Oluwaseyi's late consolation for the visitors.

A shaky start and two early goals

Andoni Iraola made six changes to the side that beat Brentford on Saturday, with Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Bradley Barcola all starting on the bench. Trey Nyoni and Ryan Gravenberch came into the side, and the rotation looked unsettled from the outset.

Virgil van Dijk had a poor start. He first misjudged a long clearance, then his attempted header back to Alisson was intercepted by Georges Mikautadze, who rolled the ball under the Liverpool keeper. Villarreal doubled their lead when Nathan Saliba sent Sergi Cardona clear, and the left-back finished past Alisson.

Mac Allister and Araújo level before half-time

Liverpool responded before the break. Mac Allister rose to meet a Kostas Tsimikas corner and flicked a header into the unguarded side of the net. In the final kick of the first half, Cardona let a Ngumoha cross bounce behind him, and Araújo headed home at the back post.

Ngumoha and Mac Allister turn the tide

Liverpool were much improved after the restart. Ngumoha, the 18-year-old winger, was a constant threat down the right. He set up Mac Allister's second goal with a low cross that the midfielder swept home, and Liverpool's third came as Wirtz finished left-footed into the bottom-right corner after Tsimikas and Cody Gakpo had created space for him.

Liverpool have now been in comeback mode on multiple occasions at Anfield, and that trend continued here.

Nervy finish but three wins from three

Oluwaseyi pulled a goal back late on from Ayoze Pérez's delivery, but Liverpool held on. Opta data shows Ngumoha, at 18 years and 52 days old, became the third-youngest player to provide multiple assists in a Champions League game. Liverpool finished with an expected goals total of 2.37 from 22 shots, compared with Villarreal's 1.58 from 14 attempts. Iraola will now turn his attention to the Premier League clash with Brighton, but for now Liverpool have three wins from three in Europe this season.