Liverpool's England trio help bring home the U21 title

Harvey Elliott scored and Tyler Morton assisted the winner as England lifted a second successive U21 European Championship by beating Germany 3-2 on Saturday.

A member of the Young Lions side that won the title in 2023, Elliott - who was a starter on the night alongside Liverpool teammate Jarell Quansah - delivered his fifth goal of this year’s edition of the tournament after just five minutes of play in Bratislava.

Moving onto a clearance near the edge of the opposition penalty area, the midfielder calmly placed a low finish into the bottom right corner to give his country a lead.

That advantage was doubled midway through the opening half by Omari Hutchinson, but Germany fought back to level through Nelson Weiper and Paul Nebel efforts either side of half-time.

Morton was introduced from the bench by Lee Carsley shortly before the break and, after the Germans had been denied by the woodwork in stoppage time, he was pivotal to England going back in front two minutes into extra-time.

His outstanding, first-time curling cross from the right channel found Jonathan Rowe inside the box to guide home a diving header.

That proved to be the decisive goal, making England champions again, with Germany again hitting the crossbar in added time at the end of 120 minutes.

SOURCE: www.liverpoolfc.com

Harvey Elliott helps England U21 Into The Final

Harvey Elliott continued his outstanding form at the U21 European Championship by scoring twice to ensure England beat the Netherlands 2-1 to reach the final.

The Liverpool midfielder’s third and fourth goals of the tournament decided Wednesday evening’s semi-final in Bratislava, where Jarell Quansah also started. Tyler Morton missed the tie due to a one-match suspension.

Elliott put the Young Lions 1-0 up shortly after the hour with a powerful, right-footed finish after he’d collected Elliot Anderson’s pass.

Noah Ohio quickly equalised for the Netherlands but, having assumed the captain’s armband following James McAtee’s substitution, Elliott produced a moment of magic to win it for the holders four minutes from time.

The Reds’ No. 19 and drove inside and then at the heart of the Dutch defence before finding the bottom corner with unerring precision.

England will now face either France or Germany in the final on Saturday night.

Source: www.liverpoolfc.com

Harvey Elliott to consider future at Liverpool FC

Liverpool midfielder Harvey Elliott has said he does not want to be "wasting years" in his career and this summer will weigh up whether to stay at the club.

The 22-year-old, who is part of the England squad for the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia this summer, was limited to 18 Premier League appearances for Liverpool last season, 16 of them as a substitute.

His only two starts came in defeats at Chelsea and Brighton after the Reds had already secured the Premier League title in manager Arne Slot's first season in charge.

Overall, Elliott played 28 games in all competitions, which included six starts as he totalled five goals and three assists in 822 minutes of action.

In comparison, he made 53 appearances, including 27 starts, in the 2023-24 campaign when he scored four goals and provided 11 assists.

"It's just a situation that me and the team have to have a conversation about because I'm coming into an age now where I'm 22, I'm going to be 23 next season," said Elliott when asked if he is considering leaving Liverpool.

"I don't really want to be wasting years on my career because it's a short career. You don't know what's going to happen.

"I need to reflect. I need to see if I'm content in doing what I'm doing and how can I improve as a player because that's the most important thing.

"I just want to improve and be the best possible version of myself. If that's to go somewhere else, then it's a decision that I'm going to have to make and I just need to see what happens.

"Nothing makes me want to leave. I love the club, I love the fans, the team. I support them as well. But most importantly, it's just about what's best for my career."

Liverpool are trying to sign attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen this summer which could further limit Elliott's chances of first-team football.

Elliott, who was sidelined for about three months when he suffered a broken foot in September, added: "After my injury, I think it was always going to be hard, but I'd hoped I would have got some more opportunities - but football is football."

Elliott, who joined Liverpool as a 17-year-old from Fulham in July 2019, returned from injury in December.

He hoped scoring a late winner in the first leg of a last-16 Champions League tie at Paris St-Germain in March would be a turning point for him, but it proved not to be the case.

Elliott was a half-time substitute against Southampton in Liverpool's next game before the second leg of the tie against PSG, which the Reds lost on penalties.

"I thought PSG [first leg] was kind of a high for me, especially with the Premier League game coming up a few days later," said Elliott.

"I thought it was an opportunity for me to get a start and showcase what I can do and just get a nice run out, but the boss is the boss.

"He's the man in charge. He's the reason why we've won the league, because of his decisions. His decisions were not to start me - I can't complain."

BBC Sport

Internationals: Liverpool players in action on Monday

Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah, Hervey Elliot, James McCaonnel & Trey Nyoni were all involved for their national teams on Monday.

Curtis Jones played the final quarter of an hour in England's 3-0 victory over Latvia in World Cup qualifying taking him to four senior caps.

Meanwhile Quansah, was an unused substitute for Thomas Tuchel's England side at Wembley.

Harvey Elliott played the opening hour of England U21s' friendly against Portugal, were the England side ran out 4-2 winners.

McConnell and Trey Nyoni also featured for an hour in the England Elite League Squad's 2-2 affair with Switzerland.

Contract situations of trio not a distraction

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has dismissed suggestions the contract situations of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah could be a distraction.

Right-back Alexander-Arnold, centre-back Van Dijk and forward Salah are all in the final 12 months of their deals.

Salah, speaking after the win at Manchester United prior to the international break, said "nobody in the club talked to me yet about contracts".

But Slot said: "It's again the boring answer you are going to get from me as long as there is no news. We don't talk about contract situations here.

"Is it a distraction? No, it isn't because I'm fully focused on the individuals and the team.

"They are part of the team and I'm trying to work with them in the best possible way to get the best out of them. It's not a distraction for me at all."

Liverpool have won their opening three league games under Slot - who succeeded Jurgen Klopp in the summer - and host Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

They will be without attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott, who fractured his foot while on England Under-21 duty.

"Harvey's injury is, of course, a big disappointment for him but also for us," said the Dutchman.

"He didn't play that much in the first three games but he showed himself really well in pre-season. It's a blow for the both of us.

"If he had stayed fit, he would have had a lot of playing time in the upcoming fixtures but now he isn't and that gives a chance to someone else," added Slot, who said new signing Federico Chiesa has trained "three or four times" with the first team and is contention to be involved against Forest.

During the international break, Reds goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher said he wants to leave Liverpool to "be a number one" as the club looks as if they have chosen to go "in a different direction" by agreeing a deal to sign Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili next summer.

"I would be really worried if a player came out and said 'I don't care about playing first-team football'," said Slot. "That would be a bigger worry for me.

"It's normal they want to play but it's also normal that a club like this that tries to compete for trophies has more than 11 players who can play.

"He's shown many times in the past few years, and even in pre-season, that he's ready whenever we need him.

"It's a good thing he wants to play. Who knows if he'll play for us in the future. At this moment, it's quite clear that Alisson is the number one but last season he played many games.

"So, it's a normal situation for a player to be in if you're not playing - that you want to play - but he handles that situation really well."