Deemed surplus to requirements at Anfield by Arne Slot and his entourage, Harvey Elliott took a leap of faith over the summer by leaving Liverpool for Aston Villa. Following his loan with an obligation-to-buy, the London-born midfielder picked up his first start under Unai Emery in Tuesday's League Cup clash against Brentford – but how did he perform? And what did the Villa Park faithful make of his display?
Heading into the all-Premier League encounter having scored a total of zero goals so far this season, Emery and his men were keen to advance to the next round. It was none other than Elliott who ended their lengthy goal drought; but, on the side of the half-time interval, Aaron Hickey levelled proceedings for Keith Andrews' side.
A whole host of attacking changes from Emery followed, as did an all-important penalty shooutout. The London side were impeccable from 12 yards out but John McGinn and Matty Cash both missed, which meant the Villa Park outfit crashed out of the competition at the earliest possible convenience. The loss aside, it marked the first time Elliott had started since his temporary summer switch.
Watch the highlights from Aston Villa's penalty shootout loss to Brentford:
Inside Elliott's Display vs Brentford as Fans Give Clear Verdict
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Still uncapped by the England senior team, two-time Premier League champion Elliott will be hoping that an upturn in performances could catch the eye of Thomas Tuchel ahead of the 2026 World Cup. He caught the attention of Villa fans during his short, 19-minute cameo against Everton on the weekend just gone – but he was given the chance to strut his stuff from the off against Brentford.
Operating just behind the striker, Donyell Malen, and flanked by two wingers, Jadon Sancho and Evann Guessand, Elliott was able to pick up lovely pockets of space and keep things ticking with a John McGinn-Lamare Bogarde partnership behind him. He could be Villa's for £35million next summer as long as he makes at least 10 appearances this term.
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In 67 minutes, before being replaced by Ollie Watkins, Elliott's two shots were on target, 91% (29/32) of his passes were accurate, and he created one key pass for his teammates. Defensively sound, too, the midfielder completed four ball recoveries and won 100% (2/2) of his duels.
He took his goal well, too. McGinn pressed well from the front and put Sepp van den Berg under heaps of pressure. He nicked the ball, which landed in the general vicinity of Elliott. Busting a gut to get the end of the loose ball, the ex-Fulham academy star took his shot first time and, with a slice of luck, it trickled into the back of the net. Watch it below:
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), there are plenty of supporters who are 'losing the plot' with Emery's bold-but-unusual in-game substitutions. "Elliott our best player and Emery takes him off... he really is losing the plot," one said as another added: "Unfortunate we couldn't replicate what he was delivering after he came off but sometimes it's what has to happen. Hopefully he gets more game time and can keep being effective for us at the weekend."
"Harvey Elliott and [Jadon] Sancho were the only positives to take to be honest," another added before his strike was labelled a 'well-needed'. They wrote: "On the plus side, I liked what I saw from Harvey Elliott. Put in proper graft and scored a well-needed goal." Another added: "WTF is going on? We looked a decent team until the 'big guns' came on from the bench. Harvey Elliott looked decent - so he was subbed!"
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Emery has a tendency to rely on players that he's had at his disposal for a lengthy period of time, often allowing new signings to rot on the bench. Supporters are hoping that isn't the case with Elliott after his promising performance at the Gtech Community Stadium.
"I genuinely think it was a bit of a mistake. I'm also a bit concerned that Elliott himself was annoyed at the decision, you could see his expression when the camera cut back to him a couple of times. Hoping Emery doesn't do a [Donyell] Malen with him and waste him away as he's clearly a very good player."
"I just hope he grows into a starter because he showed some real promise out there today," another fan added as one concluded: "Calming down the heat of the elimination a bit, I have to say the following: it is positive that the team has scored its first goal this season. Having said that, Harvey Elliott CANNOT leave the starting XI."
All statistics per SofaScore - correct as of 17/09/2025