InterviewHarvey Elliott on the real Liverpool, Man City clash and Salah's whispers

The No.19 rounded off Wednesday’s comprehensive victory by netting the Reds’ final goal of the evening - his first strike in the Champions League.

It’s now back to Premier League duty for Jürgen Klopp’s side, who welcome City to Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

“Yeah, definitely. I think it was a much-needed win, to be honest, and a win which showed not only the fans but ourselves who we really are,” Elliott told Liverpoolfc.com, when asked if the manner of the success in Glasgow had lifted spirits at the AXA Training Centre.

“To be able to go out and put in a performance like we did, even more so in the second half, to go out and score six goals - to score six goals in a game, let alone in one half, is unbelievable for us and just showed how clinical we were.

“We could have scored more if we’d wanted to and took our chances even more. But yeah, especially going into the weekend, it’s put us in a great mood and we’re all looking forward to it.”

Read on for the rest of Liverpoolfc.com’s pre-match interview with Elliott.

Playing against Manchester City is always a huge challenge. What’s been the main message from the manager in the aftermath of Wednesday and in the build-up to this one?

Just to carry this momentum on, to be honest. Especially coming off a 7-1 win, we’re as confident as ever I think and that performance showed what we really are about and what we can do. City is going to be a different game; it’s going to be, I think, a lot more intense from start to finish. Obviously they are going to come at us and obviously try to build on what they’ve done this season. So it’s just down to us to make sure we’re prepared, make sure we’re ready, and hopefully we can top off another win at the weekend. It’s going to be very hard and a lot of hard work needs to go in in training from now until then, but we’re probably in the best possible position going into the game coming off this win.

You’ve enjoyed a fair few big moments in your career already – would this be another experience you’d love to have? Competing against one of the best teams in Europe in what’s bound to be an incredible atmosphere at Anfield…

Yeah, definitely. I think whether I play or not it is going to be a game that I am always going to remember, to be honest. I know the fans are going to be at it from the whistle and even before, and all the way through. Hopefully we can put a smile on their faces at the end of the game but as I say, it’s not going to be an easy game, it’s going to be a very tough game and we’re going to need the fans throughout it. It’s going to be an unbelievable atmosphere, that’s for sure - it always is at Anfield and we just need to take it on board and make sure it’s going to affect us in a positive way and hopefully rub off on us guys on the pitch and make sure we can put a performance on for them.

It feels like it was a long time ago now, but Liverpool did play City in the FA Community Shield and won 3-1. The knowledge that you have already met them and come out on top this season can help this weekend, can’t it?

Yeah, definitely. It’s positives that we need to look at from that game as well. As you said, it’s a different kind of situation, obviously just coming off pre-season and going straight into it, it’s always going to be different in the season. But I think we showed we can play through them and get the better of them, especially in that game, and we just need to make sure that we do the right things again and hopefully we can get the better of them in this game coming up. But as I keep saying, it’s going to be very hard and the pre-season compared to during the season is a lot different. It’s just about how we use the ball and making sure we take our chances.

You’ve mainly been in a midfield three since breaking into the team but you played in a different role on the right of a four against Rangers. How did you find it?

It’s nothing [too different] to what I’ve been used to, to be honest. I came here as a sort of right-sided player, whether that’s on the wing or in the middle. It was just something different, something fresh, which is always nice to switch it up and [have] different responsibilities again that I’ve learned from that game and took into my game now. For myself, personally I really enjoyed it. As I said, it was something different, something else that I could learn and take into my game and help me improve. But yeah, I think it’s always nice wherever you play on the pitch as long as you win. That’s the only thing that matters.

We spoke about big moments before and there was another one for you at Ibrox when you got your first Champions League goal. How did it feel when you were finally able to celebrate after the VAR delay?

I mean, it was a bit of mixed emotions, to be fair. I was annoyed and I was not annoyed at the same time, obviously having to wait isn’t the best feeling in the world. To be honest, I don’t really like waiting in general for things! But it was an iconic moment for myself, to have Mo there in the background and he just kept whispering in my ear: ‘It’s a goal, it’s a goal!’ But I was just thinking to myself, ‘Don’t celebrate too early, don’t celebrate too early!’

I was just hoping that it was going to get allowed in the end and VAR were going to overrule it and give it as a goal, which they did. But for me, it was just a sigh of relief, to be honest. I think it was a great game for the team and for me personally I was more than happy with how the team played and the result. I think just to top it off and get the seventh, it was the cherry on the top, to be honest. To be able to celebrate with the fans as well, it was not how I wanted it to be because I wished I could do it just off the back of scoring, but at least it was still allowed and I got to celebrate with them partially, which was good.