Liverpool playmaker Harvey Elliott has broken a unique Premier League record after helping the Reds claim a 4-1 comeback victory over Luton Town at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Jurgen Klopp's side fell behind in the 12th minute courtesy of a close-range header from Chiedozie Ogbene, but Luton's lead disappeared in a flash as the hosts turned the game on its head with two quickfire goals in the space of just 125 seconds midway through the second half.
Alexis Mac Allister assisted headers buried by Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo, before Luis Diaz added a third on the 71-minute mark with a composed left-footed finish from inside the penalty area.
On his 100th appearance for Liverpool, Elliott put the game to bed with a superb first-time strike whipped into the top corner following a smart through-ball from 18-year-old debutant Jayden Danns to make sure Reds claimed three crucial points to boost their Premier League title hopes.
Klopp and co celebrated their 18th top-flight victory of the season and have consolidated their place at the summit, moving four points clear of reigning champions Manchester City in second as well as five points above Arsenal in third.
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Elliott was handed just his fourth Premier League start of the season against Luton, replacing the injured Diogo Jota, and the versatile midfielder certainly took his chance in the first team as he posed a constant threat as one of the hosts' chief creators.
At the age of 20 years and 321 days, Elliott has become the youngest player on record (from 2008-09) to score, have five or more shots (five), create five or more chances (seven), have 10 or more touches in the opposition's box (17) and make at least 25 passes ending in the final third (27) in a Premier League match.
After celebrating his first home league goal of the campaign, Elliott expressed both relief and joy to have helped the Reds overcome a challenging contest against a "tough" Luton outfit.
"As I said before the start of the game, Luton are a tough team and we had to dig deep and show the desire," the Englishman told Sky Sports.
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"The final bit wasn't really there in the first half. But football is a game of two halves and in the second half we showed it. We had to be a lot better than we were in the first half.
"To be fair we're not really thinking about the [EFL Cup] final. It was about getting the job done tonight. It's a big game at the weekend but tonight was a final. Each and every game is a final. It's a busy period and we need to recover for the weekend.
"We are a resilient team and we want to fight for one another. It's a hectic season. For the lads that are injured we wish them well and we want to come back quickly."
Elliott will hope that his impressive performance against Luton will be enough to retain his spot in Klopp's XI for Liverpool's EFL Cup final duel with Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.
Oliver Thomas
