Micah Richards has revealed that he was impressed with the performances of Liverpool attacking midfielder Harvey Elliot and defensive midfielder Wataru Endo during the 1-1 draw against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday.
The injury-ravaged Reds were second-favourites against Pep Guardiola’s side and soon found themselves behind after John Stones put the visitors ahead in the opening 45 minutes.
However, Liverpool drew themselves in the second-half from the spot and could have easily won having missed several chances to put the game to bed.
The Merseysiders also won the midfield battle and were impressive going forward, with both Elliot and Endo standing out from the park.
“Harvey Elliot! What a player he is! He works so hard for the team,” Richards said on the Rest is Football podcast.
“When you are watching the game on TV, you don’t see like people’s positions and all that, and the cameras panning from one position to another, but when you are at the game, you see exactly how hard he works. He was composed in possession and he really worked hard for the team.
“Endo in midfield, wow! When he came to Liverpool, I was thinking, okay, good experienced player, but I didn’t think he could get to the levels of that in terms of the intensity of the game.
“We know that the Bundesliga is back and forth, but I thought he was outstanding in the middle of the park yesterday, he really was.”
The 31-year-old Japanese joined Liverpool in the summer from Bundesliga club Stuttgart on a four-year deal for £16 million after the Reds missed out on Ecuador international Moises Caicedo and Belgian midfielder Romeo Lavia to Chelsea.
The fans and pundits were not impressed with his recruitment but he has since proven them wrong, making 31 appearances across all competitions.
Endo has become very important for Liverpool and will be desperate to help them win the Premier League title this term and give manager Jurgen Klopp a happy send-off.
Elliot is only 20 but is playing way above his years, with his hat-trick of assists against Sparta Prague last week underlining how solid he has been in attack.
The England youth international has two goals and five assists in 39 appearances so far this term and will play a huge role as Liverpool look to win the remaining three trophies they are challenging for.
