Liverpool star Harvey Elliott has admitted that criticism of his efficiency in front of goal drove him on to score a stunning solo effort in England-under-21's 2-0 triumph over Germany in Georgia.
Former Everton midfielder Lee Carsley has guided the Young Lions through to the knockout stages of the European Championships as winners of group C, with Elliott accompanied on the scoresheet by Aston Villa's Cameron Archer last night.
While it cannot be argued that Elliott, like many in the team he currently finds himself playing in alongside fellow Red Curtis Jones, possesses an abundance of talent, one slight weakness in the 20-year-old's game has been directly contributing to goals.
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Despite enjoying a prolific campaign during the 2020/2021 season with Blackburn Rovers, where he registered a highly impressive 7 goals and 11 assists, Elliott has scored just four senior goals and provided three assists during the early stages of his Anfield career so far.
However, in an attempt to buck such a trend, the former Fulham starlet produced a wonderful solo goal for his country. Elliott received the ball from goalkeeper James Trafford around the halfway line before driving towards the area and finishing excellently into the bottom corner.
And post-match he acknowledged that a desire to prove the doubters wrong acted as inspiration for the strike. “I just wanted to do it myself, to be honest,” Elliott told UEFA.com.
“I get criticised a lot for not getting many goals and assists, especially playing in an attacking position.
“It was a great opportunity for me to go out there and kind of be more selfish, in a way. And it just opened up nicely for me and I just wanted to stay cool, calm and collected and make sure I finished it off and luckily it went in the back of the net.”
England will now face Group A runners-up Portugal in an eagerly anticipated quarter-final showdown on Wednesday evening at !7:00 UK time.
