Stan Collymore has suggested that Jurgen Klopp’s decision to keep Harvey Elliott in his Liverpool midfield for the 1-1 stalemate with Chelsea was a massive show of faith.
The former striker pointed out that it was a “massive thumbs up” from the German coach given that the teenager had to come up against “arguably the world’s best defensive midfielder” in the Blues’ N’Golo Kante.
🗣️"For an 18-year-old having an arm put around him by JK and say, 'go and play against arguably the world's best DM in N'Golo Kante' – that was a massive thumbs up to him."@StanCollymore on #LFC's rising star, Harvey Elliott 🌟 pic.twitter.com/5JEFeGgHwc
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) August 28, 2021
Despite going down to 10 men courtesy of a Reece James sending off in the first-half, the Merseysiders couldn’t find a moment of inspiration to hand them three points at Anfield.
READ MORE: (Video) Football fans notice cheeky Sadio Mane moment after Reece James sent off
Elliott’s rise up the ranks is particularly noteworthy when coming up against a side as well-drilled and efficient at Thomas Tuchel’s Champions League-winning outfit.
Make no mistake – this was a huge vote of confidence from Klopp in the former Fulham Academy graduate who showed signs of developing an excellent relationship with forward Mo Salah.
There are certain aspects to his game that will require maturing, of course, but it was yet another confident outing from the young star who is continuing to impress when called upon.