Harvey Elliott is about to face an even bigger fight for his Liverpool place
For the second season in succession, Harvey Elliott could celebrate scoring for a side that racked up nine goals in a record-equalling win. But the situation the Liverpool midfielder finds himself in at present is significantly different to that of 14 months ago.
Last August, Elliott notched his first Premier League goal for the Reds with the second in a 9-0 Anfield thrashing of Bournemouth. And on Thursday, the 20-year-old was the standout for England under-21s when scoring at the end of each half and also providing an assist in their 9-1 Euro 2025 qualifying romp against Serbia.
In between, Elliott has first cemented a place in the Liverpool midfield before being given a stark reminder of the competition for places at such an elite club.
On a personal level, his outstanding performance for Lee Carsley's England U21s - having in the summer helped them win the Euros for the first time in 39 years - was a timely confidence boost after a difficult showing four days earlier for Liverpool at Brighton.
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Elliott, after a series of impressive cameos from the bench, had been handed a first Premier League start of the campaign but was hooked at the interval, after which the introduction of Ryan Gravenberch on the left of the midfield three allowed Dominik Szoboszlai to shift across to the right and help the Reds improve during a 2-2 draw.
The scenario wasn't ideal for the youngster, with Liverpool not operating with a regular defensive midfielder as Alexis Mac Allister toiled as an emergency number six. Elliott suffered as a consequence.
But he has had to do much
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