3/10 – Liverpool man named ‘the worst’, one of ‘the flops’ – Klopp ‘demanded too much’

While an impressive result, Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League last night will not go down as one of their more memorable performances.

Indeed, a look around the reaction to the game last night and this morning will tell you as much, with many praising Liverpool for their ability to grind out a big win when not at their best.

Quite why the Reds weren’t at their usual level is up for interpretation, although much of it was due to Inter Milan and Simone Inzaghi getting his tactics spot on.

The Italian earned plenty of credit for his side’s performance and, on another night, if the chances had fallen their way and his side had been more clinical, they may have walked away with a priceless victory.

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That wasn’t to be, but it was an impressive evening nonetheless for the Serie A champions and one in which their squad bettered Liverpool’s in several areas.

One man who struggled, in particular, was Harvey Elliot, who, according to the ratings from L’Equipe and Gazzetta Dello Sport today, was the worst player on the pitch.

We’ll start with the French publication, who gave him a three out of ten, a joint low score alongside Diogo Jota and Lautaro Martinez and had him in the ‘flops’ section of their analysis.

They say Elliot, who is Liverpool’s youngest player in the history of the Champions League, ‘lacked pace’ and ‘made a mistake’ in the 27^th and 42^nd minute, which were blots on his copybook.

There was also a failed cross to Mohamed Salah in the 32^nd minute that was ‘not strong enough’ and ultimately led to him being replaced by Jordan Henderson in the 59^th minute.

 

Gazzetta, meanwhile, say that Jurgen Klopp ‘demanded too much’ of Elliot and starting him in the game was ‘not the wisest of choices’.

According to them, Elliot ‘wandered around without a position’, and Inter Milan were able to launch ‘good counter attacks’ from his side of the pitch as a result.

They gave him a five, which was the lowest of any Liverpool player and joint lowest of all the players on the pitch.

They even label him ‘Il Peggiore’, which, as you might be able to guess, means ‘the worst’.

A little harsh, maybe given his age and the situation, but it seems those watching in Italy and France were not convinced by Liverpool’s young starlet.