Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has needed to be flexible this season when it comes to central defensive partnerships.
After season-ending injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip the German boss has called on each and every possibility at various points in the campaign.
Following the deadline day signings of Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies – the Reds do at least have alternative options once again.
However, with both new arrivals also out injured, Klopp called upon a fit-again Nat Phillips and 20-year-old Rhys Williams on Saturday.
The unlikely duo kept a clean sheet – albeit in large parts down to the brilliance of Alisson Becker.
After the match, as cited by The Anfield Buzz on Twitter, Williams put the display down to Phillips’ quality.
Twitter:
| Rhys Williams:
“Nat’s a top defender. He’s got bags of potential and he coached me through the game for some o… https://t.co/oF4Dmns5yo (@TheAnfieldBuzz)
Having been on loan at non-league Kidderminster last term, the Preston-born ace has made 15 first-team appearances this season.
Meanwhile, Phillips, a Stuttgart loanee in 2019/20, has played 13 times in the Premier League – earning an impressive average Sofascore rating of 7.02 along the way.
READ LIVERPOOL VERDICT
Phillips’ rise to prominence this season has been one of the success stories in an otherwise dismal campaign.
With the summer fast approaching the future of the 23-year-old is perhaps one of the most intriguing elements of the transfer window at Anfield.
As the three senior central defenders return to fitness and Ibrahima Konate edges closer towards an arrival, the ‘Bolton Baresi’ may find himself too far down the pecking order for his own liking.
