Lukaku is proving himself as Chelsea’s game-changer, Sancho on the periphery and Llorente’s injury record
For the first hour at Elland Road, Liverpool’s midfield was a million miles from the mess of last season, slick and accomplished, with Fabinho – who spent much of last campaign as an emergency centre-back – and Thiago Alcântara, now able to express himself as part of a functional team, turning on the style as
Liverpool sliced through their opponents at will. But equally on song was the dazzling Harvey Elliott, who over the last four games had established himself not just as a deserving member of Klopp’s starting XI but also one of the country’s brightest young footballers. The sight of him being stretchered off with an apparently grisly injury was a rare moment that united players and fans of both sides in sympathy and goodwill. If this weekend has reminded us of sport’s ability to catapult a precocious talent into overnight superstardom, then we have also seen just how brutally such an ascent can be stopped in its tracks. Alex Hess