Harvey Elliott has emphasised the importance of Liverpool “fighting” for departing manager Jurgen Klopp as the Reds pursue a Premier League and UEFA Europa League double.
The Anfield outfit are currently joint top of the Premier League with Arsenal, second to the Gunners on goal difference, but tied on 71 points with seven games to go.
Now, with Klopp’s Merseyside exit confirmed for the end of the campaign, Elliott has spoken of the need for the Reds to “do everything they can” in their remaining games for their departing boss, having already secured the Carabao Cup in February.
“We want to go out and fight not just for ourselves and each other, but for the club. We want to have a parade around the city and give the gaffer a massive send off. It’s about fighting for one another and fighting for him. Anfield is an emotional place as it is already, when you walk out listening to ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
“Listening to the fans sing the gaffer’s name for the full 90 minutes is emotional. You try not to think about it but sometimes it’s hard. For me, he’s been my manager for nearly five years and for others, more. It’s going to be an emotional time.
“We need to use it as positivity to go out and give him the send off that he deserves. As a club, he’s greatly appreciated here and forever will be. It’s about doing everything for him now.”
The midfielder, who moved to Merseyside from Fulham back in 2019, has his sights firmly set on cementing himself into Liverpool’s starting XI, but has said he is happy with playing more of a cameo role off the substitutes’ bench this season.
“Liverpool is my team,” Elliott said.
“I’ll do whatever it takes [for the club]. But from a selfish point of view, I’m not a kid anymore. I’m turning into a man and I want a spot in the team. I want to start games and keep bringing us more history. I can achieve that and produce for this club, and I’m taking responsibility on myself to do that in games.
“This season has been different, more off the bench, but I’m happy to play for Liverpool and to play for my team. For myself, I need to push on and cement my spot in this team.”
Elliott, who joined the Reds as a right winger, cited Mohamed Salah as a key role model to observe and help him adapt to life at one of the world’s biggest clubs.
“It was about watching him closely, see what he’s doing in the gym, see what he’s eating, and what he’s doing in training, trying to base myself off him,” Elliott said of the Egyptian, who has 23 goals in all competitions this term.
“We’re two completely different players and I’m not saying I want to adapt my game to his because I can’t do it as of yet.
“When [Jordan] Henderson and [James] MIlner were here, [they were] two massive characters and unbelievable players to be around and I was lucky enough to play with those legends of the club. Joining at a young age and being around them, I had to adapt quickly and they definitely helped me learn quickly.”
Attempting to keep Elliott quiet might be former Arsenal defender Sead Kolasinac, who joined Atalanta from Marseille last summer.
He has plenty of past experience in this competition, having been part of the Gunners squad who reached the final in 2018-19, only to lose to Chelsea.
This is the joint-furthest point of the Europa League the Italian side have reached, while they also sit in sixth place in Serie A.
Kolasinac says Gian Piero Gasperini’s side know they are in for a tough tie, but they will not shy away from their aggressive game plan.
“We like to play forward football,” he exclusively told TNT Sports. “We like to press the team really high, and of course if we press high, we risk a lot at the back, but we are used to it.
“For us, it’s not a problem to play like this, because we play every three days almost this kind of football. We like to play forward, we like to play offensive football. Hopefully we can do it tomorrow as well.
“If I see Liverpool this season, how they play, they play really good. They are in the title race. This is a completely different game tomorrow, but we are super excited. We are ready.
“We hope that we can have a similar result to three years ago [when Atalanta won 2-0 at Anfield in the Champions League].”
