Steven Gerrard believes it is time for Arne Slot to deploy Rio Ngumoha from the off after the Liverpool youngster impressed once again from the bench against Wolves.
Ngumoha was brought on in the 65th minute for Cody Gakpo at Molineux as the Reds slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat against Rob Edwards' side on Tuesday.
Mohamed Salah had quickly cancelled out Rodrigo Gomes's 78th-minute opener, only for Andre to strike home the winner in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Indeed, Liverpool have now lost five Premier League games thanks to 90th minute goals this season, the most ever by a team in a single campaign.
But one positive was the performance of Ngumoha, who again staked his claim for a starting spot over Gakpo and Salah after another ineffective showing from the pair.
Ngumoha created more chances (two) and completed more dribbles (two) than both Salah and Gakpo combined, leaving Gerrard dumbfounded as to why he was not starting.
"For 65 minutes Liverpool were desperate tonight, really poor, didn't create enough, didn't play at the right speed or the right tempo, didn't have enough quality," Gerrard said.
"[Slot] has to start Ngumoha. He has to start him because he's coming on, and he's doing more in a short cameo in a short space of time than Gakpo's doing in 65, 70 minutes.
"He deserves to start now. He's got to start the kid on Friday night [in the FA Cup]."
Defeat. #WOLLIV pic.twitter.com/rfIdAMF5O4
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 3, 2026
Liverpool's defeat could prove to be a pivotal result in the race for the Champions League spots, with the Reds missing the chance to break into the top four.
A victory would have put them level on points with Manchester United and Aston Villa, the latter of whom play Chelsea on Thursday, who are three points behind Liverpool.
But Gerrard's frustrations stemmed from a blunt first-half display that saw Liverpool register an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.26 from the six shots they had.
"The first half [against Wolves] was a complete waste from a Liverpool point of view," said Gerrard.
"No urgency, no ball speed change when you got into the final third of the pitch, there wasn't much quality or penetration."