Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was proud of how Harvey Elliott performed at the San Siro last night although the German boss insists the 18-year-old ‘can play much better’.
The ex-Fulham man only returned to first-team action at the start of the month following a lengthy layoff due to a nasty ankle injury sustained back in September.
“Harvey can play absolutely so much better, we know that,” the German said after the victory over Inter Milan.
“The reason why Harvey played was because we knew the spaces in which we could play in which are naturally, usually his area, these half-spaces around the midfield three being very flexible, naturally offensive-minded, all of these kinds of things.
“He had really good moments but we all know he can play much better.
“He did the job, he was working incredibly hard and all these kinds of things, but when you are 18-years-old and play against one of the most experienced teams maybe in world football and they are Italian on top of that, for an offensive player it’s not a walk in the park.
“It was a very important game for him and very helpful for us as well.”
Last night was Elliott’s Champions League debut and what a place to make it.
The San Siro is one of the most iconic stadiums in world football and our No. 67 did express his joy at making his first appearance in Europe’s premier competition last night on his Instagram account.
The attacking midfielder still showed signs of his sharpness and impressive passing ability but, similar to what we’ve seen with teammate Virgil van Dijk, it may take time for him to return to his best.
Klopp’s substitutions arguably won us the game last night and ensured we regained control of the match after the Italian side began to put us under serious pressure early in the second half.
Half-time substitute Bobby Firmino scored the opener whilst Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita dominated the middle of the park when they came on.
With the tie far from over, it’ll be interesting to see the midfield the former Borussia Dortmund boss selects to face the Italians at Anfield next month.
You can catch a clip of Klopp discussing the former Fulham man’s performance below via our Twitter page.
🗣️"We all know he can play much better."
Klopp weighs in on Harvey Elliott's performance 🌟 #LFC pic.twitter.com/eOCaAiVyeI
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) February 16, 2022