Arne Slot admitted it was not easy to bench Harvey Elliot following his PSG heroics
Liverpool manager Arne Slot suggested in his post-match press conference that Harvey Elliot will get the game time he needs. The Dutchman admitted that it was difficult to include the young winger on the bench and not in the starting 11 after a match-winning display in the previous game.
Liverpool were absolutely dominated by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. However, goalkeeper Alisson Becker and winger Harvey Elliot saved the day for the Reds. Elliot came on in the 86th minute of the game to replace legendary forward Mohamed Salah in the hopes of making an instant impact.
The England U-21 international delivered for the Reds and scored the match-winning goal with his first touch of the game. Despite scoring a memorable goal, the 21-year-old was left out of the starting 11 again in the following game against Southampton on Saturday.
Harvey Elliot benched again vs Southampton
Arne Slot’s side took on Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday. This was also a rare opportunity for the Liverpool manager to rest key players before their crucial game against PSG and give the squad players a chance to impress.
However, Slot chose a strong lineup against the bottom-of-the-table Saints and decided to leave Harvey Elliot on the bench again, following his heroics on Wednesday night.
Surprisingly, the Reds were trailing against Southampton at half-time and Slot got Harvey Elliot on for the next 45 minutes. Liverpool turned the game around thanks to goals from Darwin Nunez and the inevitable Mohamed Salah. Elliot played a crucial part in the first goal to lead the comeback as well.
The ex-Fulham winger was involved in almost all the Liverpool attacks. As per Sofascore, Elliot had a 85% passing accuracy and had an impressive 47 touches of the ball. The winger also worked hard defensively, winning two of the four ground duels he attempted.
Arne Slot admits it was difficult to bench Elliot
Arne Slot admitted that not starting Harvey Elliot was a tough decision following his Champions League heroics. The Liverpool boss, however, also admitted that the 21-year-old will get enough game time from now till the end of the season and he will play an important part.
When asked by Liverpool Echo about Elliot’s gametime, Slot said,
“It is always a difficult decision not to start Harvey. But if someone comes in for five minutes, touches his first ball and scores a goal and then you change your whole idea about the line-ups you made before, that would be a bit out of line – a bit weird as well.”
Arne Slot was asked about Harvey Elliot's game time
Slot also said,
“Yeah there is enough time, we play nine more games in the Premier League and hopefully a few more in the Champions League as well and one more in the League Cup.”
More Liverpool News:
Arne Slot’s Liverpool take on PSG next in the crucial second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. The Reds boss will be hopeful Elliot keeps the same hunger to impress and play an important part in an already memorable campaign for the English club.