Nat Phillips played a starring role against Burnley on Wednesday evening. The defender had moments at both ends of the pitch.
Nat Phillips scored Liverpool’s second goal against Burnley with a bullet header. You wouldn’t expect anything less than that for his debut strike at senior level, though.
Phillips has made a name for himself with his aerial dominance, winning headers en masse in virtually every game. He’s brilliantly made up for Virgil van Dijk’s absence in that respect.
But Phillips wasn’t just affecting matters at Burnley’s end. He also cleared one off the Liverpool line – with his head, naturally – that kept the team’s clean-sheet intact.
After the game, Phillips was asked to pick between those two moments for his favourite of the game.
“Cleared off the line – every time,” he told Sky Sports. “It’s my job to stop the ball from going in the net.
“So if I can get on the scoresheet, then happy days, it’s a bonus. But I’d much rather have the clean sheet.”
It’s a wonderful mentality that goes some way to showing why Phillips is having such success this season. He’s a player who understands his role, doesn’t try to do anything more, and offers consistency as a result.
As he says, a goal is a bonus – as was the assist against Manchester United – but it’s not what he’s there for. Phillips knows he’s to keep goals out and that’s what he judges himself by.
And that mentality is something that throws a big question into Liverpool’s plans this summer.
Phillips shines vs Burnley
Liverpool can’t go into next season with just three senior centre-backs – we know that much. They’ll need someone to help out alongside Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip.
In all likelihood, they’ll buy a player. There are strong links to Ibrahima Konate, after all. But you can’t help but wonder if they should go all-in on Phillips.
There’s always the option to keep him around as a fifth-choice, of course. But Phillips feels like more than that right now. In fact, he feels like a very good fourth-choice player.
Especially given that team-first and role-first mentality. Phillips knows what he’s there to do and delivers it – that’s exactly what you want from your squad players.
There’s always a risk that players who aren’t first-choice lose their motivation or constantly want more. We get the impression that Phillips would be more comfortable than most as a squad option, though.
Not to mention that he’s still only 24 and has very little experience. Phillips should improve further over the next few years and turn into a very solid player.
Considering he wouldn’t cost a thing, should this be the direction Liverpool head in this summer? Phillips is forcing them to ask that question.
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