Nathaniel Phillips was astute, vocal and commanding
By Zubin Daver
Liverpool defender Nathaniel Phillips was handed a surprise debut on Saturday.
With Phillips is not included in the Reds’ Champions League squad for Liverpool, the 22-year-old wasn’t expected to feature much this season but Jurgen Klopp threw him in the deep end against West Ham at the expense of Rhys Williams.
Phillips has been with Liverpool since 2016. He was part of the youth squad and then graduated to the first team in 2018, last season he was loaned out to Vfb Stuttgart where he made 22 appearances.
Phillips was expected to be loaded out once again but he impressed Klopp enough to claim a place in the Premier League squad. Given that Liverpool are thin in the center back position, he got his chance against West Ham United yesterday evening.
The young English centre-back clutched onto this opportunity with both hands. He was astute in defence, sure on the ball and highly vocal. Klopp would have had a smile on his face to see that the fringe players have stepped up amidst Liverpool’s injury crisis.
His composure and cohesion ensured that Liverpool remained impregnable at Anfield. It was such a good performance in an eerie, unnatural and silent Anfield – all without the organisational ability and guidance of Virgil Van Dijk.
Phillips looked commanding and made a few important tackles to eradicate the threat on the Liverpool goal. Given his height, his aerial presence was spectacular.
In the post match interview, the Metro reported that Klopp was incredibly vocal in his praise for Phillips.
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"“Wow, what a performance. I asked him if he was nervous, he said not. I would have been nervous. He was awake from the first minute, confident and did his stuff and played a really good game.”"
Nathaniel Phillips statistics, via WhoScored.com.
Interceptions: 2
Clearances: 9
Aerial duals won: 5
Passes: 81
Passing Completion: 81.5%
Key Passes: 1
This is what Nat Phillips had to say in the post match interview.
This is what some of the Liverpool fans and fellow journalists had to say online.
Nat Phillips has done brilliantly tonight. Can be proud of his Premier League debut. Really stepped up and delivered. #LFC
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) October 31, 2020
Even though Klopp would have been silently envious about how David Moyes has been able to consistently choose a similar line-up week in and week out, the fact that Liverpool won another nervy game 2-1 speaks volumes about this team.
dark. Next. Phillips 8, Firmino lifeless - Liverpool player ratings vs West Ham
It was the combination of substitutes Xherdan Shaqiri and Diogo Jota that saved Liverpool and Phillips does owe them a drink each in ensuring that his debut remained a memorable one!