Liverpool have a good chance of making the Champions League quarter-finals this week as they welcome PSG back to Anfield.
It has been another good few days for the Reds, who have one foot in the next round and also sit 15 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
PSG have been incredibly confident of turning around their 1-0 deficit from the first-leg, but with Anfield behind them, Liverpool hold the advantage.
The man who gave it to them last week in Paris was Harvey Elliott.
After a frustrating season, Elliott was there to sweep beyond Gianluigi Donnarumma and give Liverpool and unlikely Champions League lead at the Parc des Princes.
The goal has put the 21-year-old into the spotlight in the days since, and speaking to former England goalkeeper Ben Foster, Elliott has shared the reaction of Liverpool fans in and around the city.
Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by GEOFFROY VAN DER HASSELT/AFP via Getty Images
Harvey Elliott chats to Liverpool fans in Sainsburys
Elliott would not have been predicted by any Liverpool supporter to be the hero of Wednesday’s match before it kicked off.
The youngster has often been left on the bench by Arne Slot this season and Mohamed Salah very rarely comes off in these kinds of games.
MORE LIVERPOOL STORIES
Nevertheless, big boyhood Red as he is, it was fantastic to see Elliott come away as the match-winner.
And according to Liverpool’s No.19, he has not been able to escape the attentions of fans while out trying to get some milk at Sainsburys.
READ MORE: Liverpool set new Harvey Elliott transfer stance after youngster admits to being ‘angry’ with Arne Slot
“I came in after the game and I had my mum calling me, my dad calling me and they’re all crying with happiness,” Elliott told Foster for Amazon Prime Video Sport.
“For me, I don’t know, I didn’t understand the magnitude of that goal until, like, now. I’m even getting messages now from people. It’s a few days later and I’m not really thinking about it anymore, you’re focusing on the next game and people are still going on about it!”
“Even in shops and stuff,” chuckles Elliott. “I was in Sainsburys yesterday and there were Liverpool fans in there. I wanted to go in and get some milk and toilet roll, I’ve come out and it literally took me about half an hour.
“I was thinking ‘what’s going on here’ but it sums up the fans, it’s a massive club and the fans are so passionate. It just makes you want to embrace and experience these moments even more.”
Elliott explains how he got the better of Nuno Mendes
One striking thing about Elliott’s winning goal was just how much space he had to sweep past Donnarumma.
He also did so having got the better of PSG left-back Nuno Mendes, who was terrific up against Salah all evening. Asked by Foster to break down how he got past Mendes, Elliott says it was simply a case of the Portuguese defender switching off.
“Obviously watching Nuno Mendes against Mo, he had a really, really good game and watching him from before and playing with his card on FIFA you know his pace is ridiculous,” he said. “So, I thought, I’m not going to outdo him for pace here so I was just seeing how the moment would go.
“He went like this [turned] and saw me, and then he turned his back so he was facing straight forward. And I thought, right if there’s ever a time I need to use whatever speed I have in me, it’s now!
“It got to a point I was running and I had a little glance and he was still a bit behind me, so I just wanted to make sure I made a good connection, I’ve done all of this work to get here, Darwin’s done all of the work to create the chance and it was just about me trying to find the back of the net and it went in.”