Rhys Williams names player who ‘coached’ him through Southampton game | OneFootball

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Anfield Watch

·10 May 2021

Rhys Williams names player who ‘coached’ him through Southampton game

Article image:Rhys Williams names player who ‘coached’ him through Southampton game

Liverpool centre-back Rhys Williams has revealed that Nat Phillips coached him through the game against Southampton on Saturday.

Williams has claimed Phillips is a ‘top defender’ and has expressed his delight at being able to play alongside him in the Premier League for the Reds.


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The pair lined up at centre-back against Southampton on Saturday following an injury to Ozan Kabak and helped keep a clean sheet in a 2-0 win for Liverpool.

Speaking to Liverpool’s official website, Williams opened up on his time playing next to Phillips. “Nat’s a top defender. He’s got bags of potential and he coached me through the game for some of it, so I’m really happy I could play with him.”

Article image:Rhys Williams names player who ‘coached’ him through Southampton game

ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

Phillips’ progression at Liverpool this season has been phenomenal. He has gone from a player unlikely to start many games at the start of the season, due to Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez being ahead of him, to a regular fixture in the defence and now he appears to be developing into a leader as well. It is fantastic to hear that Phillips, who is only 24 himself, coached Williams through the match and helped out his younger teammate on the pitch.

The former Bolton defender has now played 16 times across the Premier League and Champions League for Liverpool this season, averaging a superb WhoScored rating of 7.16 in his 14 starts. He is growing in maturity and experience, whilst showing his quality on the pitch, and it will be intriguing to see whether or not Klopp keeps him around in the first-team when van Dijk, Matip and Gomez return from their injuries. If not, he has shown enough in his appearances for the Reds to prove that he could be a useful player for another club in the Premier League to be a regular.

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