Former Liverpool man Danny Murphy was left impressed by the performance put in by the teenage sensation Harvey Elliott following Saturday’s draw against Chelsea.
The 18-year-old Elliott was handed a second successive start in league action for the Reds with the youngster starting in midfield ahead of the much-experienced likes of Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita.
Jurgen Klopp decided against bringing off his young talent as it was the skipper Jordan Henderson who gave way for Thiago Alcantara to come in during the closing 45 minutes at Anfield.
Elliott’s role in the Liverpool midfield has taken many by surprise considering the fact that the English starlet is a natural winger whose talents are being utilised in the centre of the park by Klopp who remains on the search for a new midfielder in the transfer market.
Murphy, in his column for The Daily Mail, lavished praise onto Elliott’s showing against a formidable Chelsea outfit with the latter’s decision making over the course of the 90 minutes being subject to plaudits from the ex-Anfield hero.
“I was shocked Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp picked Harvey Elliott because I didn’t think things quite came off for him against Burnley last week.
“To start an 18-year-old ahead of Naby Keita, Thiago Alcantara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for a game of this magnitude this was a big call. The fact he stayed on for 90 minutes showed it worked.
“I think Klopp selected him because of his courage to keep demanding the ball in dangerous areas. He can do that because his touch is immaculate and for a relatively small player, he was able to get after people and be combative.
“It’s that lack of fear young players have that really helps. They play freely, don’t worry about the repercussions and it was a really terrific performance. And his decision-making was good — if a simple pass was needed, that is what he did.
“Klopp will be delighted at how he coped in the cauldron. This was a proper match between two brilliant football teams and Elliott showed he belonged.”
