Jurgen Klopp's men got back to winning ways at Anfield with a dominant attacking display that was typified by their 21-year-old midfielder
Liverpool's Premier League title hopes were already over, but Harvey Elliott breathed new life into his hopes of making the England squad for Euro 2024 by playing a starring role in Sunday's entertaining 4-2 win over Tottenham.
Much of the build-up to this Premier League clash understandably focused on Mohamed Salah, after the Egyptian's row with Jurgen Klopp in last weekend's 2-2 draw with West Ham, and the Egyptian opened the scoring at Anfield to great acclaim.
However, it was Elliott who stole the show after Andy Robertson had given Liverpool a deserved 2-0 lead, with the Englishman creating the third goal for Cody Gakpo with a sublime cross before putting the outcome beyond all doubt with a stunning strike into the top corner of the Tottenham goal.
The woeful visitors did manage to pull a couple of goals back late on through Richarlison and Son Heung-min, as Jurgen Klopp began to make changes in his penultimate game at Anfield as Liverpool manager, but the Merseysiders held on easily enough to claim a morale-boosting victory.
GOAL rates all of the Liverpool players on show as Tottenham's faint hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League went up in smoke…
Getty Goalkeeper & Defence
Alisson Becker (6/10):
Pretty much nothing to do during the first half other than pick out a couple of passes, but got down quickly to deal with Johnson's header shortly after the restart. Nothing he could have done about either goal.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):
As ever, a great outlet down the right flank but also deserves credit for completely nullifying Johnson before the Welshman was moved to the opposite wing.
Jarell Quansah (5/10):
Strong in the air and in the tackle, while the youngster also made a splendidly timed tackle on Son early in the second half. However, he completely lost Richarlison for the Brazilian's goal.
Virgil van Dijk (6/10):
Stopped Son in his tracks when called upon during the first half, but is struggling to command a defence that hasn't kept a clean sheet since March and was fortunate not to be punished after playing an unmarked Richarlison onside late on.
Andy Robertson (8/10):
Just like Alexander-Arnold, always willing to bomb forward, so it came as no surprise to see him get on the scoresheet, after following up a rebound from a Salah shot that he had teed up. Also played a fantastic cross-field ball in the build-up to the fourth goal.
AdvertisementGetty Midfield
Harvey Elliott (9/10):
Got the nod ahead of Szoboszlai and Jones on the right-hand side of the midfield and justified his inclusion with a tremendously dynamic display that featured a lovely cross for Gakpo's header and a thumping strike from distance to make it 4-0. Worth remembering that Elliott has only just turned 21; he has every chance of becoming a regular next season.
Wataru Endo (7/10):
Taken off midway through the second half after a solid shift. Spread the play brilliantly in the lead up to the opener and kept things nice and tidy, while also showing plenty of bravery in winning the ball back.
Alexis Mac Allister (6/10):
A quiet game by his standards. Couldn't fault his application, but his passing was unusually poor. Fatigue really has taken its toll on the Argentine in the final few weeks of the season.
Getty Attack
Mohamed Salah (7/10):
Began the game like a man on a mission after last week's touchline dust-up with Klopp and broke the deadlock with a neat back-post header. Continued to threaten thereafter without ever quite looking back to his brilliant best – he even missed an open goal at one point – but he did bag an assist for his lay-off to Elliott.
Cody Gakpo (8/10):
Fully vindicated Klopp's decision to start him over Nunez by being involved in most of Liverpool's best attacks, which included him picking out Salah for the opener with a lovely cross from the left wing and then netting Liverpool's killer third goal with a brilliantly-taken header.
Luis Diaz (6/10):
A constant thorn in Tottenham's side and worked tirelessly but, sadly, there was no end product and he was taken off with 15 minutes to go.
Getty Subs & Manager
Joe Gomez (4/10):
Took over at left-back from Robertson and completely lost Johnson on the Richarlison goal.
Stefan Bajcetic (5/10):
A welcome return to first-team action for the injury-hit Spaniard, who did well during his brief cameo, but Liverpool undoubtedly lost a bit of control without the man he replaced, Endo.
Darwin Nunez (4/10):
Nearly picked up an assist during his 15 or so minutes on the field but he was, unsurprisingly, offside. Then wasted a great chance to score from a terrific Salah pass. Again, sadly predictable.
Ryan Gravenberch (5/10):
Brought on in the 76th minute for Mac Allister but didn't make much of an impact.
Dominik Szoboszlai (5/10):
Only saw eight minutes of action but he did swing over a couple of decent crosses, while also wasting a decent chance.
Jurgen Klopp (7/10):
Got his big selection calls spot on but maybe erred by taking off Endo too early, as Liverpool lost all control of the game in the final quarter.
