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Liverpool were unable to cap off the UEFA Champions League league phase with a win away to PSV Eindhoven.
Arne Slot brought a heavily rotated side to the Netherlands with the Dutch manager handing a number of Liverpool academy graduates their first minutes in Europe as Cody Gakpo marked an emotional return to PSV with a goal from the penalty spot.
Despite losing 3-2, Liverpool still finished top of the Champions League standings, with the Reds set to face one of AS Monaco Benfica, Brest or PSG in the last-16 of the competition once the play-offs have concluded.
Indeed, Liverpool fans will be proud of how the squad performed against a fired-up PSV side, and Andy Robertson was impressed by one youngster in particular in last night’s clash in Eindhoven despite the final result.
Photo by Marcel Bonte/Soccrates/Getty Images
Speaking to UEFA’s official website, the Scotland international praised Jayden Danns after the striker made his first senior start for Liverpool, with the teenage forward leading the line well alongside Gakpo and Federico Chiesa.
With Danns making Liverpool history having started last night against PSV, the 19-year-old gave a good account for himself as the striker gave Eindhoven’s defence plenty of problems before being brought off for Amara Nallo in the final ten minutes.
And for Robertson, the Liverpool defender was greatly impressed with the England youth international’s performance, with Danns likely set for even more appearances in the coming weeks having held his own on the biggest stage in European football.
Robertson said: “Big Danns worked so hard up top.
He’s got a big future, and obviously the lads coming off the bench as well.”
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Danns was impressive in his first start for the Reds, but the teenager was not the youngster who shone the brightest for the Reds in the Netherlands, with that honour going to Liverpool academy graduate James McConnell.
The midfielder has featured sporadically for Liverpool this season, yet last night’s performance in Eindhoven felt like a true introduction to McConnell on the grand stage, with the youngster proving he could be a real option for Slot.
And Robertson seems to agree, with the defender saying about Liverpool’s youngsters against PSV: “I thought they were really good.