Wednesday night was the biggest moment of the season for Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott.
The 21-year-old came off the bench for a four-minute cameo against Paris Saint-Germain in Liverpool’s Champions League Last 16 tie and ended up scoring the winner for the Reds.
This sparked scenes of jubilation amongst the away fans in Paris as the 1-0 win was not deserved on the night as the Premier League leaders were dominated by Luis Enrique’s team.
Although Elliott took the headlines, Liverpool had their goalkeeper to thank, with Peter Schmeichel stating that Alisson’s performance was “one of the best goalkeeping displays” he had ever seen in his life.
The PSG clash will give everyone at Liverpool a boost after the way the Reds played, but no more so than Elliott and Arne Slot needs to use the midfielder wisely throughout the remainder of the campaign.
Arne Slot needs to use Harvey Elliott’s momentum to help Liverpool win a treble
This season has been a tough one for Elliott with Jamie Carragher believing that Slot does not trust the Liverpool midfielder.
The 21-year-old has received just 507 minutes of action this season across 18 games, which is not enough for a player of his age to develop further.
Elliott was spotted looking frustrated on the Liverpool bench in their recent win over Newcastle after not getting onto the pitch and many feel the English star could leave Liverpool this summer.
| Games | Goals | Assists | Minutes |
| 18 | 4 | 1 | 507 |
Southampton’s Tyler Dybling could be a great replacement for Elliott should he depart Anfield but in the meantime, Slot can get a lot out of the 21-year-old, starting this weekend.
The midfielder will be full of confidence after his PSG goal and with the Reds at home to Southampton on Saturday, this would be a great time to give Elliott a start, while also giving Slot the chance to rest a key player ahead of the second leg against the Ligue 1 leaders next week.
The 21-year-old needs to be able to show he has a future with the Merseyside club and with chances limited between now and the end of the season, the Liverpool boss needs to take a chance on the youngster.
Liverpool need to give Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai a rest
Speaking in his post-match press conference after Liverpool’s win against PSG, Slot praised Elliott’s role in the victory, while also admitting that he is aware that he rarely gives Mohamed Salah and Dominik Szoboszlai a rest.
“A big moment for him. I can understand that he is sometimes frustrated by the playing time he gets because he is a good player, he showed at Liverpool already that he is a good player, but he is in competition for players that I hardly take off,” the Reds boss stated.
“So, Dominik Szoboszlai is always the one that just keeps on going, he also scores goals but he’s so important for us with all the running he does.
“And yeah, Mo Salah I think is quite key for everyone as well. So, he has to do it with limited playing time but he just keeps on going.”
Liverpool are still in the hunt for a treble this season and in order to achieve this, the workload of the Reds’ key players will need to be managed, which Slot has succeeded in so far.
That doesn’t mean that it cannot change and having only won two games this season, Southampton gives the Dutch coach the perfect opportunity to rest a few of his big names.
To give Elliott a start, it would be best that Szoboszlai is given the day off as the Hungarian star has worked his socks off for the Premier League leaders throughout recent games.
Liverpool will still need Salah to provide them with goals against the Saints and the winger will not want to be rested at the weekend as it provides him with an opportunity to strengthen his Ballon d’Or claim.
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