23-year-old Nathaniel Phillips was largely superb in his debut Premier League display for the Reds in Saturday’s win over West Ham United, and the centre-back was adjudged the man of the match of his excellent defensive showing against the Hammers.
Phillips’ performance earned him huge praise from Jurgen Klopp in the boss’s post-game interview, and now Liverpool FC old boy and currently a pundit for Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher, has joined in with his commendation of Phillips’ debut league display.
According to reports from Metro, Carragher pointed out that Phillips’ ariel presence was a major help for Jurgen Klopp’s side during West Ham United’s set pieces as the Merseyside giants held on to stage a 2-1 comeback victory, courtesy to goals from Salah and Diogo Jota.
“There was a lot of talk going into this game about who would go in,” said the former central defender.
“He mentioned that the manager said to him to get yourself ready for Saturday, so he’d have known, there would’ve been talk in the press.”
“Yes, he’s the same size, but sometimes it’s not just about size in vital moments in set-pieces, I’ve been there myself and you sometimes think you have to get your head on that.”
“That’s what he did. He found himself at the near post, it was a vital header and that won Liverpool the game, really.”
Following an impressive performance over the weekend, it remains to be seen whether Klopp would make the decision of fielding the 23-year-old defender in the upcoming Champions League group stage fixture against Atalanta, as the Reds get ready to take the flight to Italy.
