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Liverpool’s Champions League win over FC Midtjylland deepened the club’s defensive injury crisis and substitute central midfielder Fabinho injured his hamstring.
However, the performance of 19-year-old defender Rhys Williams was a bright light amid the sadness of Jurgen Klop p.
With Virgil van Dijk expected to miss most, if not all, of the season due to his ACL knee injury and Joel Matip is currently unavailable, Joe Gomez is now the only fit senior center in the books.
With Liverpool facing an intense schedule of Premier League and Champions League matches before the January transfer window opens, there are concerns about how the Reds will cope and there are suggestions from midfielders Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum. , who on very rare occasions have been pressured for service. in the back, you might be asked to do it again.
The impressive performance of Preston-born LFC Academy graduate Williams when he replaced Fabinho against the Danish champions, at least gave some hope that he will prove to be a viable option as Klopp looks to guide his team through this. difficult period.
Having made only his first appearances for Liverpool in the opening rounds of this season’s Carabao Cup against Lincoln City and Arsenal, along with a brief Champions League debut when he was a substitute in the final stages of the victory of the Last week at Ajax, Williams seemed confident against the Danes. and he barely took a wrong step on a night when some of the larger stars around him shone.
It was clear that many of his teammates were impressed with the youngster’s performance and several posted their admiration in the comments on Williams’s post-match Instagram post, with a two-word nickname for him becoming a topic.
Williams posted saying, “Delighted to make another Champions League appearance. Great performance from the boys, 3 points and a clean sheet.”
Scorer Diogo Jota was one of the first to respond by saying “Great man”, accompanied by a clapping emoji.
Andy Robertson did the same saying, “I love it, great man,” while Xherdan Shaqiri commented, “Well done, great boy.”
Harvey Elliott, who is currently enjoying a brilliant start to his loan stint at Blackburn Rovers, commented, “Yeah, big man” and Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones and fellow central defender Joe Gomez also chimed in.
Meanwhile, James Milner mentioned Williams in his own Instagram post, saying, “I lost the twelfth man sometimes tonight, but the most important thing was getting all 3 points. Great performance from @ rhyswilliams4 when he came in.”
Jurgen Klopp also praised Williams after the game, while expressing caution at the increased attention likely to fall on the 19-year-old.
“Rhys Williams did really well,” Klopp said.
“The only problem we have now is that sadly we have four days until the West Ham game and you will be doing a story about him every day, and he has to show that he can handle that too!
“He is a talent, he plays for England U20, he is 19 years old. He has not played the Premier League yet, but he has played two Champions League games, he won both, which is quite exceptional. He did well, everything looks promising.
“Aside from Rhys, we still have Nat Phillips. We thought he could do a transfer to another club so he’s not on the Champions League squad, which is strange, but he’s also a central midfielder. Billy the Kid [Koumetio] I’m not sure he can train yet, but he will be back.
“We have very young and inexperienced alternatives, and at the moment it seems we have to choose one of them. But to be really clear, Rhys was not our problem tonight. He played a very good game.”
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