10 December 2023 , 22:30
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Liverpool match-winner Harvey Elliott was happy to give title-rivals Arsenal a taste of their own medicine after the Gunners' recent run of late goals had been keeping the Reds at arms length in the title race.
Elliott fired home a last-minute winner to complete a turnaround for Jurgen Klopp's side away at 10-man Crystal Palace on Saturday lunchtime, sending the Reds top. They would only end the day there if Arsenal dropped points, though, and that's exactly what happened with the Gunners falling to a 1-0 defeat against Aston Villa.
The goal was Elliott's first of the season as he rewarded Klopp for bringing him off the bench. The England under-21 star was also at the centre of another key moment, drawing a foul from Jordan Ayew which saw the Palace forward sent off, and he was clearly delighted to have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after watching his team's rivals do the same in midweek.
"It's not the best at all," Elliott said of Arsenal's recent late goals. The Gunners left it late to claim victory over Brentford and Luton in recent weeks, the latter victory coming via a 97th-minute Declan Rice header, and the Liverpool man recognised their rivals' mentality as the teams prepare to face off on December 23.
"Another unbelievable club with great determination and fight," he added. "They are contenders this year, signed some great players in the summer and have world class players as well. It is going to be another tough test for us. It doesn't really help but we can't focus on other teams."
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Elliott has been keeing an eye on all Liverpool's rivals, but more as a football fan than anything else. "You have to focus on yourselves, there is no point in focusing on other teams. You have a job to do," he said.
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Harvey Elliott delivered Liverpool's late winner against Crystal Palace (ASHLEY WESTERN/Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)Liverpool will end a Premier League gameweek on top of the pile for the first time since September 2021, when their fast start turned into a game of catch-up against Manchester City which eventually fell short. Elliott missed much of that campaign through injury before returning during the run-in, but insists the Reds need to focus on getting things right themselves rather than relying on others to slip up.
"Anything can happen in this league," he said. "City have great squad depth, as well as everyone else. They've always got world class players to fill the positions. That is the way it is.
"We need to be selfish from our point of view, keeping getting points on the board and winning games. That is what we're doing at the moment.
"They [City] can achieve anything. They're a world class club with many achievements but so are we. There is no looking at City, it is just about us. For us we're in a good place, getting points on the board and winning games."