Liverpool don't need a replacement for Salah this player is an exceptional talent coming to Reds

Welcome to a wet and windy pitch side. Ray Houghton and Jason McAteer have lapped up that 2-0 win over Fulham. It was a game, Ray, brought to life by the magic of Rio N'Gamoa, but overall, it feels like a real tonic, that. It's nice for you, isn't it? It is nice. I'm not going to let the weather spoil it either, the enjoyment of the game. Jason's suffering here, I think. What we asked for was a victory, and that's what we got. And we did. The manager's got a few questions he's going to have to mull over now to get answers to as far as team selection for Tuesday. Some of the lads who were given an opportunity in this game have done themselves a lot of favours by the way that they approached it. I thought through the course of the game that the lads that came in did a sterling job. N'Gamoa, he's one of them lads that lights things up, doesn't he? He's got this inane ability just to go past people. He can go off either foot, right or left foot. Likes to come in inside a lot, but can go outside as well and get crosses into the box. Both the goals were very similar, weren't they? The way they just curled it into the far corner gave the goalkeeper no chance whatsoever. And it was at a stage where Fulham were looking at their best. Liverpool started really well. Fulham got back into it, got a foothold in the game. And then the goals came. And then that just put them on the back foot until half-time. They'd done a little bit better, as you've just seen with the shot statistics there. So they had a lot more action in the second half. But yeah, the lads will be delighted. The manager will be very happy. He got what he wanted today, was to get closer to the teams above him. We said that if they win, it puts pressure on Aston Villa. It puts pressure on Manchester United now with their fixtures over the next couple of days. So it's going to be intriguing. It's going to be a very exciting end to the season, both at the top. Who's going to win it? Who's going to get into the Champions League places and who's going to get relegated? Yeah, it becomes a real psychological battle at this stage of the season, doesn't it, Jase? Now, I think, as Ray says, all you can do is get your points on the board as soon as possible and hope others slip up after you. Yeah, and there's big consequences when you lose. I'm more so at this football club because of the manner in the defeats we've had recently in the performances. But listen, it was a workmanlike performance today. It wasn't the swashbuckling, all action, high tempo, lots of tackles. It wasn't the game we kind of asked for, me and Ray. But, you know, in the main, it was a two-goal obviously deficit and two against Fulham. And, you know, it was some good performance by individuals. But it was the three points, which was the important thing. And, you know, with Everton dropping points, Brentford dropping points, big game for Chelsea coming up. It was important that we did take maximum points. It's lifted the mood. It's eased the pressure. And yeah, you know, there's things to work on. What I liked about it was Ray just touched on it there. You know, Fulham didn't give up. We knew that, you know, we built them up in the pre-match. And, you know, we said that they'd accumulated quite a few points from losing positions. We knew they had a bit of honesty and resilience about them. But Liverpool showed that today. You know, they had their chances, Fulham, but Liverpool stood strong. They defended when they needed to. They put a lot of running in, getting back into positions, tried to make it difficult for Fulham. But they got a clean sheet out of it. So, listen, it just sets us up nicely for Tuesday night. It sets us up perfectly for Tuesday night, Ray. We said that beforehand. It's about momentum, isn't it? And this had to be a platform for a massive week. Not just PSG, but Everton as well. And this teases up as well as it possibly can for them. Well, the players should know from last season as well, and all the players that have been here for a number of years. When you play for Liverpool Football Club, every game matters. You can't take a game off, you know, and say, oh, well, we won't play well today because we've got such and such coming up. You can't think that way. Every game is usually important to this football club. And the players have to go out and perform game in, game out. Now, we've got a clean sheet today as well. I think it's absolutely huge. Yes, Fulham have had a couple of chances. Maybe they could have done a little bit better. But overall, I thought there was a different attitude and mentality to the way we defended today. The goalkeeper wasn't diving across his goal making save after save, like he did in the Champions League match against PSG. So overall, yes, there was a lot of positives to be taken out of it. You're going to have to improve, of course you are. You're going to have to improve against the opposition on Tuesday because they've got more quality than Fulham, we all know that. But I think the players will be thinking to themselves between now and the end of the season, you know, we could end on a high. It's not been great, but we can make things change. We can make things happen. And that will be dependent on the team selection on Tuesday and the players coming out of the field with the right attitude. We said we needed a moment, a spark to kind of feed off. And there wasn't, in truth, as you said before, an awful lot to shout about in the first half an hour. I think Cody had a chance, Mo had one saved and then Rio, who we'll obviously speak about now, but had a penalty appeal that was waved away. But he provided the spark, Jase, that got everyone off their feet. They come at the right time as well. Like you said, we've had a couple of half chances, had a couple of snapshots and stuff. But again, I just felt the tempo was sort of going out of the game. It was getting a little bit laboured, a little bit slow and predictable again. And then all of a sudden, you know, he was a bright spark in the first 20 minutes. And then obviously he gets the ball, a couple of step overs, buys himself a lovely bit of space, doesn't he? And he finds the bottom corner like he'd been around for years. And yeah, he took it really, really well. I was made up for the young man, yeah. And it was nice that he played a part in Salah's goal as well. Again, he cut inside, laced the ball into Gappo, plays a lovely little weighted ball right onto Mo's left foot. And we've seen him do that time and time again, having to just bend it into that bottom corner. And it was nice to get a 2-0 lead going into halftime because we know what we're like when we're 1-0, even 2-0. I mean, I said to Ray, I would like a third one in the second half, but obviously it didn't come and we held out. But yeah, to get the second one, I think just calmed everyone down. Yeah, 17 years and 225 days, Rio becomes the youngest ever league goalscorer at Anfield. He takes Raheem Sterling's record, which has stood since October 2012. Ray, quite something this young man. It is. Listen, he's an exciting prospect. You can tell with the crowd. Every time he gets the ball, the crowd are excited. They're on the edge of their seats because they're expecting something to happen when he's in possession of the ball. And he's so super confident. You know, he's got great belief in his own ability. And as has the other players. You know, when they get the ball, they don't look at him and then shy away from him. As soon as he's on to play to it, they give him it and they're encouraging him. Go on, you take the player on. And he never rejects that offer. You know, he wants to get at the full-back. He wants to drop the shoulder. He wants to go past them. He wants to make things happen that final third. And that's all you can want. That's all you can want from a youngster, you know, at that age to come out there. He's not got the experience at the moment. He's still learning and he goes along. But he's got supreme ability and great belief in himself. You know, I like Ray about his attitude as well. It's not easy to come in to a team at the minute like this with, you know, the fans on the edge, you know, with confidence being low and, you know, results being the way they've been and performances as well. You know, they haven't been great. So to throw him in, you know, I think Ray just used the word he wants, you know, he wants to make something happen. He wants to get on the ball. He's not shying away. He's not worried whether he gives it away. The crowd might get on his back. I don't think that would happen because of his age and the crowd obviously want him to do well. But you could feel like that in this team at the minute because it's not free flow and it's not coming natural. You know, they are working at it. They are thinking about it. You know, it's not coming on instinct. So I was really, really happy with his attitude today. He just wanted to get on the ball and make something happen. And he did. Yeah, he will be in demand in the media room at the moment, Rio N'Gomoa, but he's found time to speak to LFC TV. Here he is with Peter McDowell. Rio, first question's a simple one. Just give us a penny for your thoughts. How are you feeling? Good. Buzzing to get the three points, definitely. It was needed so we can go positively on Tuesday. And to get a goal as well. Happy. Anfield, the home ground. I couldn't ask for much more, yeah. Your face paints the entire picture and you're a veteran of this. You've done it before at Newcastle. But to do it here in front of the home fans, they're singing your name and everything else. Yeah, I think Newcastle was great because they were all the way up there. But I think today was special, like even more, because to get the first goal in the game and to be at Anfield, it's the best stadium in the world. I couldn't ask for much more and the fans are singing my name. Special, yeah. You'd have dreamt about this, but you're not waking up from this dream. This is real. Yeah, it's real. Like I said, the goal today was amazing. I'm definitely going to celebrate it today with my friends at home. But then I can't get too high because the game's on Tuesday. So, yeah, just back to reality. It felt like a game that was perfect for you today in that it was everything about your style. Go at defenders, have shots at goal, get the crowd going, which was so important today. Yeah, just, you know, I think when I get a chance to take on a man, I always take on my man. If there's an overlap on with Robbo, because he gives me a lot of help during the games, I'll play it to him. Or if I come inside, one-twos with Flo. So I feel like I have a good connection with everybody now. And yeah, like I said, I just want to excite the crowd and excite everyone.