Arne Slot takes his players off after the FA Cup defeat. (Image: Getty)
For manager , it was a bump in the road but not a defeat to derail the season. With his team facing a frenzied fixture schedule as they lie top of the , with a final and the Champions League knock-out stages to come, the Dutchman opted to make 10 changes to his side for Sunday’s FA Cup loss to Plymouth.
And while the result at Home Park ended hopes of an unlikely quadruple and prompted temporary embarrassment, in reality Slot’s most significant taking from the cup tie will be that the fringe players failed to take an opportunity.
One in particular. In just his third start of the 2024/25 campaign, produced an ineffective display that was capped by him conceding the penalty for Ryan Hardie’s winner.
In just his fourth start under Slot, the 21-year-old clumsily raised his arms in the second half as he blocked Darko Gyabi’s attempted lob. Despite the player himself , the decision ultimately appeared justified.
But it wasn’t that solitary moment of madness that may have sounded the death knell for Elliott this season. It was his lack of penetration in the final third, summarised by one weak effort from a shooting chance, which would have mostly concerned Slot.
A foot issue has limited Elliott’s availability this season, but since returning to fitness, the notion he is not considered worthy of a starting place by his boss has been impossible to ignore. Aside from Sunday, his only games in the XI have come against Accrington Stanley in the previous round, in the League Cup, and a dead rubber with PSV.
Harvey Elliott struggled to make an impact. (Image: Getty)
He’s amassed just 502 minutes overall in 16 appearances this season. And with every game appearing pivotal to Reds from here on in, it seems unlikely he will be entrusted with another start, barring an injury crisis at Anfield.
Favouring a forward role, it’s currently inconceivable that Elliott will force his way above the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and in the pecking order. And criticism of his latest display on social media suggests there won’t be a clamour for his selection either.
It’s a far cry from last season when Elliott appeared to be highly rated by . Having spent the 2020/21 season on loan at Blackburn, he duly became a vital squad member in the three years that followed, winning two EFL Cup medals with the club.
In 2022, he was rewarded with a new five-year contract and has since reiterated his desire to be a long-term force on Merseyside. But if he wants to perform regularly and break into the England fold, hopes of seeing out his deal may soon have to be disbanded.
Right now, that latter ambition appears some way off. And after his latest display, the chance to shine again in red may also be some way away too.