Harvey Elliott gave a ‘fruity’ interview after a heroic Man of the Match performance during England’s victory over the Netherlands at the U21 European Championship. The Liverpool ace was at the heart of the action, netting both goals during the 2-1 victory for Lee Carsley’s side.
On the back of his stellar showing, Elliott was quizzed on the contest by Channel 4, with the playmaker looking visibly exhausted during his stint in front of the microphone. Speaking in the studio after Elliott’s post-match debrief, presenter Jules Breach reacted by dubbing it an “emotional and fruity” interview from the 22-year-old.
Elliott had said: “Amazing. Really tough game. To win is incredible. Another final, I know I keep saying it, but we need to rest, recover and go again. It is not over yet. Tonight was another amazing experience, really tough conditions once again, but the way the lads dug deep. I think we deserve this final. It is about recovering, resting and going again.”
He added, speaking about his celebration for the first goal: “I don’t know what I have done with my knee, but it is hurting, hopefully it is nothing too silly. Silly decision from me, but one of them. Live in the moment, you do these things. The pitch was ridiculously dry, but that’s the price I have got to pay.”
Elliott only featured 28 times for Liverpool last season and following the arrival of Florian Wirtz, has been tipped to leave the Merseysiders. Speaking on Channel 4’s coverage, Jermain Defoe has urged the ex-Fulham ace to leave for pastures new this summer: “We said it before that Harvey Elliott is too good to not be playing. When you’re producing in big tournaments like this against top players. He needs to get out and play. Go out and express yourself and show people how good you are.”
Fellow pundit Joe Cole continued: ” Anyone outside the top six he comfortably walks in and becomes the main player. He left Fulham as a young man. His learning has been spread out, there is more to come from him. There will be teams all around Europe looking for Harvey Elliott’s number.”
His goals leave England with a Saturday final against either France or Germany, with the latter having beaten the Young Lions in the group stage. On the prospect of making it back-to-back titles at the U21 Euros, manager Lee Carsley said: “We were disappointed to come in at half-time without scoring, but I thought the second half we played with real resilience. James had to make some saves. It shows how important the squad is. The subs that came on made a real impact as well, so we can look forward to the final.”
On the match-winner, he said: “Harvey and Charlie [Cresswell] didn’t play a lot of minutes in the last campaign [two years ago]. We knew how important they would be, they’ve taken it on board, driving the rest of the squad. Harvey has been outstanding, he’s one of the many that have really stood up.”