Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott ‘got it in the ear’ from his father in a post-match debrief after coming out second best against Arsenal’s in their recent clash, according to reports.
The Merseysiders had enjoyed an excellent record against the Gunners in recent years but were beaten 3-2 at the Emirates earlier this month.
Elliott was introduced late in the match as an 81st-minute substitution for Diogo Jota, with Bukayo Saka having already netted what proved to be the winning goal from the penalty spot for the Premier League leaders.
In truth, Arsenal saw out the match in relatively serene fashion and Elliott had little impact in an attacking sense – though his defending left something to be desired.
According to , that is something the 19-year-old has been working on this season and he has had private sessions with assistant boss Pep Lijnders to try to improve.
In addition to doing special training drills and video analysis with the club, he has also had some frank conversations with his dad Scott – who wasn’t impressed with son’s cameo against Arsenal.
The two often have lengthy debriefs after matches and the defeat at the Emirates was no different, with Elliott senior particularly unhappy with how his son dealt with White.
The Arsenal defender – who has impressed since switching to right-back from his usual centre-back role – nearly Ki**ed off the match when he burst past Elliott and whipped in a dangerous cross late on.
Afterwards, the youngster ‘got it in the ear’ from his dad for letting White get away from him, prompting him to go away and study the footage – and realised he should have got much tighter.
Elliott has continued to work hard to improve his game and was rewarded with a start against Manchester City on Sunday, with no such defensive lapses this time around.
The teenager has mainly played in a midfield three for Liverpool but has been used on the right more recently, saying of the role: ‘It’s nothing [too different] to what I’ve been used to, to be honest. I came here as a sort of right-sided player, whether that’s on the wing or in the middle.
‘It was just something different, something fresh, which is always nice to switch it up and [have] different responsibilities again that I’ve learned from that game and took into my game now. For myself, personally I really enjoyed it.
‘As I said, it was something different, something else that I could learn and take into my game and help me improve. But yeah, I think it’s always nice wherever you play on the pitch as long as you win. That’s the only thing that matters.’
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