Some Liverpool fans took to Twitter to praise Nat Phillips for his display against Real Madrid. The centre-back had a notable game.
Nat Phillips vs Real Madrid. None of us saw that coming at the start of the season.
But the 24-year-old has now faced Real twice, starting in both legs of this UEFA Champions League quarter-final. It was a big ask for such an inexperienced defender.
Phillips struggled in Madrid, to be honest. He was isolated a lot as the Reds put in a horrendous performance.
But at Anfield, he was a rock. Many fans felt that way, praising Phillips at the final whistle.
Fans on Phillips
Phillips vs Real Madrid
The stats back up the praise. Phillips was fairly dominant throughout the game.
He won seven headers in the game, more than anyone else. Real’s Nacho came closest with four. Phillips did that at an 88% success rate – again, the highest in the game.
The defender also made four interceptions, the most for Liverpool. Only Fede Valverde had more (8).
Phillips kept the ball well, too, completing the fourth-most passes in the game. And while the stats don’t show it, he was consistently driving Liverpool forward in that second half.
We never expected Phillips to play such a high-profile game. For him to play so well is quite incredible, then, and he deserves all of this praise.
Phillips is undoubtedly becoming a fine centre-half.
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