Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott has shocked football broadcaster Richards Keys with just how good he was against Manchester United.
Elliott was a surprise inclusion on the Liverpool teamsheet on Sunday afternoon. With Stefan Bajcetic in such good form, many had assumed that the young Spaniard would keep his place for the visit of United.
Instead, Jurgen Klopp kept his faith in another of his teenaged upstarts. As it turned out, it was a fantastic decision. Elliott ran rings around Casemiro and Fred all day long, even teeing up Liverpool’s second goal of the afternoon.
And writing in his blog on richardajkeys.com, Keys doffed his hat to the England U21 international.
“Liverpool were terrific. They answered every question that’s been asked of them recently, but Klopp isn’t daft enough to think they’re back,” wrote the beIN SPORTS presenter. “In an adrenalin fuelled atmosphere two of his ageing mid-field were fantastic, but Henderson and Fabinho can’t play at those levels every week anymore. Klopp has got to recruit in that dept. Elliott surprised me. Perhaps there is a player in there after all? And congrats to Salah, who has got to hit those heights every week again now if Liverpool are to make a CL place – and maybe turn round the tie against Madrid? Who knows? Well – we all do really! But why not dream a little?
Elliott shows what all the hype is about
To be fair, a lot of football fans will immediately disregard the comments of Keys. He doesn’t tend to be famed for his brilliant takes. But here, he might just have a point.
Because as good as Elliott has been on occasion for Liverpool, he’s largely fallen a little short of expectations. That might sound unfair on a player who’s still only nineteen, but Harvey comes with a lot of hype. He’s spoken of in terms that don’t always reflect what he’s shown on the pitch during his Reds career.
The youngster would be the first to acknowledge that, though. Elliott demands a lot of himself because he knows what he’s capable of. On Sunday, we saw exactly the kind of heights he can reach. It was his best game in a Liverpool shirt without question.
In truth, he probably did deserve his starting spot, too. The No.19 was the Reds best player when he came off the bench in the second half against Crystal Palace. Elliott did well last week versus Wolves too, and was Liverpool’s biggest goal threat for a lot of that match.
After a difficult beginning to the season for Harvey, it’s great to see him playing with a little more freedom. Still the only player to feature in every Liverpool game this season, he had looked like the weight of the world was on him in those early months.
But now able to take his rest when needed, Klopp is using him a little more sparingly. It’s starting to pay off. There needs to be a few more of these performances turned in on a consistent basis, but Elliott finally deserves the plaudits he’s getting. Keep it going, Harvey!