Liverpool beat RB Leipzig in the Round of 16 of the Champions League with an aggregate scoreline of 4-0 and defender Nathaniel Phillips was one of the star players on the pitch.
The defender was given the chance to start in a key European game alongside Ozan Kabak and thankfully, the 23-year-old came out with flying colours. Whoscored has given him a rating of 7.1 which is absolutely wonderful for someone who was not even supposed to get a start a few months ago. And even Jurgen Klopp seemed really impressed with the youngster.
He said after the 2-0 win: “What a boy he is, what a player he is, what a night it is for him. That’s absolutely great.
“The concentration level he shows now nearly week in, week out since he’s playing for us is absolutely incredible. He’s doing exactly the right things in the right moment. In the air he’s a monster but you could see it today, he’s football-wise not bad, really good.
“I couldn’t be happier for somebody than I am for Nat in this moment because it was a great game and not a lot of people get the honour to play a Champions League game. He has that now, he played a really good one, he won it and he’s qualified for the last eight in Europe – that’s really special.
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“A few years ago nobody would have thought that and I’m really glad that he can experience it now.”
Nathaniel Phillips was rock solid in central defence alongside Kabak and it’s safe to say that Jurgen Klopp will use this exact same partnership against Wolves in the Premier League on Monday.
Playing someone like Nathaniel Phillips in central defence also frees up Fabinho who can then operate in defensive midfield and help provide some that extra cover to the back-line.
Ben Davies was also back on the bench for Liverpool on Wednesday but he is not likely to get a chance to feature against Wolves.
