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Arne Slot has changed his mind about starlet Harvey Elliott(Image: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Arne Slot has sympathised with Harvey Elliott's "angry" and "frustrated" feelings, hinting that the young winger deserved a starting spot against Southampton.

Elliott, 21, was in contention for a rare start on Saturday, following his midweek heroics where he scored a late winner against Paris Saint-Germain.

Despite his decisive goal in the Champions League, Elliott found himself on the bench at the start of the match against the Saints, who were leading Liverpool 1-0 at half-time before succumbing to a 3-1 defeat.



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The youngster made his presence felt as a substitute after the break, injecting much-needed urgency into Liverpool's play.

His recent performances come at a time when he has openly discussed the challenges of limited game time under Slot - and these voiced opinions have been taken on board by Slot.

Earlier in March, Elliott made his frustrations clear: "I've already played almost 150 games for Liverpool [137] and I feel like I'm very experienced in that aspect.

"So there are moments within the season where I am getting angry, I am getting frustrated because I want to play, but at the same time I need to respect the situation and I need to respect the manager's decisions."

Elliott's impact was evident again during the Reds' 3-1 comeback win over Southampton, where they briefly looked vulnerable before a Mohamed Salah double and a Darwin Nunez strike extended their lead at the top of the Premier League to 15 points.

Slot, who was serving out his suspension from the stands on Saturday, might be thinking of Elliott more as a first-team regular due to his contributions of late, reports the Mirror.

Slot has shown an appreciation for Elliott(Image: FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

After witnessing the 21-year-old's display, Slot shared his dilemma with the Echo: "It is always a difficult decision not to start Harvey, not to start Wata [Wataru Endo], not to start all the other ones I don't play.

"But if someone comes in for five minutes, touches his first ball and scores a goal and then you change your whole idea about all the line-ups you made before, that would be a bit out of line - a bit weird as well.

"He got 45 minutes today because he did so well in Paris.

But there's also a reason why I played so many times the other ones and all the time they deserved that trust.

But today, if I could do it one more time over, I would have started it differently than I started today.

This will undoubtedly boost Elliott's confidence, knowing his efforts are being recognised by the one person who truly matters.

With a potential treble still up for grabs and Liverpool's League Cup final against Newcastle scheduled for Sunday, there's plenty of time for Elliott to make a significant impact this season.

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