Liverpool star Harvey Elliott believes that the tough 1-2 victory over Southampton is a good result considering the circumstances involved. The Reds made several changes for the Carabao Cup quarterfinal game, providing chances to the academy players and squad players.
Just like Elliott, many have recently returned from their battle with injuries and fitness, while some have not played enough. Meanwhile, Southampton came into the game after sacking manager Russell Martin, and they face serious relegation troubles this season.
Given the nature of the game, many anticipated the Saints to play with more drive to make a positive statement. Southampton did exactly that in the second half despite conceding two goals in the first half, scoring a good goal.
Nevertheless, Elliott’s second goal in the first half acted as the eventual winner while the Englishman finished the whole game. The 21-year-old suffered a foot injury in the early stage of the season forcing him to wait for the opportunity.
Elliott enjoyed a lot of first-team experience during his young career under the legendary manager Jurgen Klopp. However, he has to prove himself once against Arne Slot under a vastly different tactical style of play.
Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com after the Southampton game, Elliott highlighted the various factors involved for Liverpool during the hard-fought victory. He said:
“They caused us a fair few problems. We came into this game, especially with the circumstances that Southampton are going through, we knew they were going to come out fighting and we had to be ready for that. I feel like for a team that we put out there today – some of us haven’t played much this season, we had really young lads as well – we fought as a team and thankfully we can come away with the win.”
Liverpool made several changes and played many young academy players against the resurgent Saints during the second half. Nevertheless, the youngsters and other squad players proved that they are ready to face any adversities when required.
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The victory is a fantastic outcome along with many squad players receiving a well-deserved game time. Furthermore, returning players like Elliott, Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa and Kostas Tsimikas earned crucial minutes to gain some match fitness after their injury troubles.
