Arne Slot was frustrated with Liverpool
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has suggested he was perhaps wrong not to start Harvey Elliott following his winner against PSG
Arne Slot has offered "angry" and "frustrated" Harvey Elliott his condolences by suggesting the winger should have started against Southampton.
Elliott, 21, was in the running to earn a rare start against the Saints on Saturday, just three days after he came off the bench to bag a late winner against Paris Saint-Germain. That Champions League decider wasn't enough to get a starting berth against the Saints, who led Liverpool 1-0 at the break before crumbling 3-1.
He nonetheless made a big impact as a half-time substitute, bringing an urgency to the Reds performance that had been missing. And the timing of these recent displays has been apt after the youngster conceded he was feeling the brunt of his restricted minutes under Slot.
"I’ve already played almost 150 games for Liverpool [137] and I feel like I’m very experienced in that aspect," he said earlier in March. "So there are moments within the season where I am getting angry, I am getting frustrated because I want to play, but at the same time I need to respect the situation and I need to respect the manager’s decisions."
He once again provided energy off the bench during Saturday's 3-1 comeback victory over Southampton. The Reds were briefly on the ropes before Mohamed Salah's brace on top of a Darwin Nunez equaliser lifted the club 15 points clear at the Premier League summit.
But despite not being among the goals at Anfield that day, Elliott nonetheless continues to prove a point to his manager. And Slot - who saw out the last game of his suspension from the Anfield stands on Saturday - may view Elliott as more of a first-team candidate following his step up of late.
"It is always a difficult decision not to start Harvey, not to start Wata [Wataru Endo], not to start all the other ones I don't play," he told the Liverpool Echo. "But if someone comes in for five minutes, touches his first ball and scores a goal and then you change your whole idea about all the line-ups you made before, that would be a bit out of line - a bit weird as well.
Harvey Elliott of Liverpool celebrates 0-1
during the UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint Germain v Liverpool
Elliott has proved his worth to Liverpool and then some in the last week
"He got 45 minutes today because he did so well in Paris. But there's also a reason why I played so many times the other ones and all the time they deserved that trust. But today, if I could do it one more time over, I would have started it differently than I started today. . .but you don't know this in advance."
That comment suggests Slot may have wished he rewarded Elliott for his midweek heroics by handing him the start against Southampton. If that were the case, a less fatigued opening 45 minutes might have mitigated any stress caused by Southampton's surprise opener.
Elliott has scored four goals and recorded one assist this season despite making only four starts in all competitions. The prospect was linked with a move away from Anfield in January but spoke out publicly to distance himself from an exit.
It's not every day one finds a manager of Slot's standard willing to admit they were wrong over a player, never mind that admission being made in public. And it will offer Elliott no small reward in confidence to know his work is paying dividends with the only brain that truly matters.
With a potential treble still on the line and Liverpool's League Cup final against Newcastle taking place on Sunday, there's ample time for Elliott to have a major impact this term. And his manager has been the first to acknowledge he perhaps should have had the chance to contribute more already.
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