Liverpool Loanee, Harvey Elliott, Scored Scintillating Solo Goal

The youngster roasted two defenders on the dribble before
sliding the ball into the net

Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott managed to have himself quite a
day this past weekend against Norwich City. The young attacking
player was influential all game long, seemingly a focal point of
the Blackburn Rovers offense.

With his team down a goal against the league leaders, Elliott
took an innocuous pass on the right wing, and immediately cut
infield and then toward the end line while shielding the ball from
a defender rushing over to pressure. As Elliott entered the box, he
sized up another defender stepping across the box to force him
wide, and deftly touched the ball with the outside of the boot to
nutmeg the defender, took a quick step to the side, then squared up
to slip the ball under the keeper.

The goal showcased quick feed, quicker thinking, and a calmness
in a high pressure situation that belies his tender age. Check out
the goal below.

While the goal will get the plaudits, Elliott was impressive all
game long. Despite only being 17 years old, he was constantly
sought out as an outlet from the defenders and midfielders, and was
an engine for the attack all game long. He finished the game with
two shots on target from four total shots, added in two key passes
(a pass leading directly to a shot), and added in six (6!!!!)
dribbles.

While we’ve seen young players excel in the Championship before,
there seems to be something a little extra about Elliott. He isn’t
just flashing here or there, he has consistently proven to be a
focal point of the attack for Blackburn. In fact, he regularly is
serving as a creative outlet, averaging 2.3 key passes per game. He
leads the team with four assists on the season, and has chipped in
three goals, good for second on the team (stats from whoscored.com

While not blessed with the blazing speed of a Mohamed Salah,
he’s fast enough and has a low center of gravity that makes him
hard to dispossess, and has impressive short area quickness. More
importantly, he is able to do everything at top speed. At one point
on Saturday, he sprinted forward to receive a pass, and took it out
of the air with the outside of his left boot without breaking
stride before driving a right footed ball across the box that was
deflected out for a corner.

Elliott is always playing with his head up, and seems to know
where his fellow attackers are on the pitch at all times. He also
exhibits stellar vision and touch, dropping beautifully weighted
balls and and sliding reverse passes to players in dangerous
positions. He has all the makings of a creative force, serving as a
provider. The biggest step he seems to need to take is getting more
touches in and around the box, and to get more shots off
overall.

Enjoy a compilation of Harvey Elliott vs Norwich City below!