Liverpool have had to make do at the back this season. The Reds have lost scores of players to injury and the defence has been the worst hit. We’ve seen academy graduates given surprise opportunities due to the crisis. Rhys Williams has discussed his Premier League debut, admitting he was pretty nervous.
Liverpool crisis
This has been a season like no other for the Reds.
Jürgen Klopp has been without his two best defenders for a majority of the campaign
Virgil van Dijk suffered a ruptured ACL in the Merseyside Derby.
Whilst Joe Gomez picked up a similar injury in England training in November.
Joel Matip has also had fitness issues, meaning Fabinho has spent most of the season at the back alongside some academy stars.
Rhys Williams on debut
In December we saw Rhys Williams make his Premier League debut against Spurs.
The Reds hosted the in form North London side with a victory vital in the title race.
Speaking to Goal, Rhys Williams discussed his debut, detailing how he felt when he found out Joel Matip couldn’t play:
“Pep [Lijnders] pulls me and tells me Joel has failed his fitness test and I’m going to have to step in. I was sweating, I won’t lie!
“I was just thinking ‘keep it simple’ and to try to stop the problems at source, before Kane can slip Son in.
“We did that for most of the game, but obviously the one time Son got free, he scored. It showed you’ve always got to be on your toes.”
What RTK has to say
We’ve got to admire Rhys Williams for how he handled his Premier League debut.
He held his own and has done for most of the season.
He won’t have been expecting to make as many appearances as he has this term. It has been a massive campaign for him.
Hopefully he’ll continue to progress, we could do with him stepping into the side again to allow Fabinho back into the midfield.
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