Paul Scholes thinks Liverpool have discovered a 21-year-old gem and takes brutal dig at Anfield faithful

Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has spoken highly of Liverpool forward Lewis Koumas after watching him against Manchester City, with Michael Owen also giving his verdict on the Wales international forward.

In the build-up to the Premier League game between Liverpool and Man City on Sunday, Reds manager Andoni Iraola said that he would start Koumas up front due to the absence of Alexander Isak because of injury.

Iraola kept his word, with Koumas playing as the lone striker for Liverpool in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

It was a game to forget for the Anfield faithful, as Liverpool lost 3-0 to Man City, with Ryan Gravenberch sent off for the home team after 62 minutes.

Koumas, though, gave a good account of himself, with the 21-year-old Welsh striker a constant problem for Man City.

The youngster was a threat to the Man City defenders with his pace and had a good chance to score.

While Scholes was impressed with Koumas, who has come through the Liverpool youth system to establish himself in the first-team squad, he felt that the Anfield atmosphere was flat.

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Paul Scholes praises Liverpool striker Lewis Koumas

Scholes said on The Good, The Bad & The Football: “I think Anfield’s been like that for the last couple of years since Jurgen Klopp went.

“Really, I think if Jurgen Klopp’s there, it’s a different atmosphere, isn’t it?

“The people of Liverpool are crazy. Just a little bit like him.

“I thought for the first 20 minutes. It was lively enough, and the game was a little bit more than you’d expect from Liverpool, it was chaos.

“Which it can be at Anfield. We’ve been there so many times. You don’t have time to think on the ball.

“The game changed on the on the sending off because I thought Liverpool actually played quite well.

“They had two big players missing, Liverpool. Isak and Gakpo.

“That makes a big difference for them. Szoboszlai as well. He was a big influence.

“The Welsh lad. Koumas did really well, actually. Thought I thought he did well. He’s a real handful. Nearly scored. But it was just that little bit of experience lacking in him.

“The sending off as well. Bloody hell. Every single foul. The second one was a yellow, though. Yeah, but the first was soft.”

Former Liverpool and Man Utd striker Michael Owen was also impressed with Koumas.

Owen told FlashScore: “I think Koumas is a bright young prospect.

“I love his attitude; his energy was good, I thought he certainly didn’t look out of place and yesterday, with how everyone played, you could argue he was one of the most threatening forward players, so I had great pleasure seeing him do well.

“I know him personally and hope he has a bright future at Liverpool.”

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