Lee Carsley hails ‘outstanding’ Liverpool ace Harvey Elliott after 8.5/10 performance for England | OneFootball

England Under-21s beat the Netherlands 2-1 to reach the final of the European Championship thanks to a brace from Liverpool attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott.

The Liverpool ace was denied twice in the first half, drawing magnificent saves from Robin Roefs in the Dutch goal.

However, the goalkeeper could do nothing to stop the 22-year-old in the second half.

Elliott took the bull by the horns after the break. He opened the game by rifling a shot into the top corner with his weaker foot in the 62nd minute..

England allowed the Netherlands to get back into the game with a cheap goal, but Elliott was on hand to restore their lead with a fantastic solo goal.

The former Fulham star took the ball and veered past multiple defenders before arrowing a vicious strike into the back of the net.

“If Lionel Messi had done this, the world would be stopping,” pundit Joe Cole said (via the BBC). “Harvey Elliott and Charlie Cresswell didn’t play a lot of minutes in the last campaign.

“We knew how important they would be – they have taken that on board the responsibility of driving the rest of the squad.

“Harvey has been outstanding,” England boss Lee Carsley said, speaking to Channel 4. “He is one of many players who have stood up.”

The Daily Mail gave Elliott an 8.5 rating for his superb showing, and he will be eager to back it up with another eye-catching display in the final on Sunday.

His latest showing raises the question of why Liverpool manager Arne Slot did not give him more opportunities this season.

Elliott made only 28 appearances for Liverpool this term, with most of them coming from the bench, totalling 822 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, there have been rumours of the player leaving Merseyside, with Brighton & Hove Albion interested in taking him away from Anfield.

He is a superb attacking midfielder who has been underutilised and could develop into a world-class player away from Anfield.