Jamie Redknapp praises Nat Phillips, says he ‘saved his team’ against Manchester United

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Liverpool saw off Manchester United last night and Jamie Redknapp was full of praise for Nat Phillips and Rhys Williams keeping Edinson Cavani quiet.

The in-form Red Devils striker was pretty anonymous last night. That, despite Phillips getting off to a bit of a nightmare start as he deflected Bruno Fernandes’ effort past Alisson Becker.

But Phillips did recover well. He set up Diogo Jota for the equaliser, cleared one off the line, and was also unlucky not to win a penalty when VAR overturned the initial decision.

Former Reds midfielder Redknapp, then, was full of praise for Phillips and also mentioned young partner Rhys Williams.

“I think Nat Phillips deserves a lot of credit there. Especially after the first half. Great piece of defending (to clear off the line) and I think he saved his team there,” Redknapp told Sky Sports.

“Of course they (Liverpool) missed Van Dijk and Gomez. But these two defended well. We hardly saw Cavani in the game today.”

Phillips in particular has grown into one of Jurgen Klopp’s most useful squad members. However, he’ll no doubt find himself back down the pecking order this summer, with the club said to be close to signing Ibrahima Konate.

Williams, meanwhile, arguably had his best game in a Reds shirt. The youngster could well go out on loan next term, depending on the options and fitness Klopp has available.

TBR View: Phillips and Williams right to get praise from Redknapp

Yes, Cavani got himself a nice assist later on with his pass through to Rashford, but he was relatively quiet. And given his form lately, the Liverpool duo deserve credit.

Phillips is growing into an established Premier League defender at the moment. It’s great to see, and he’ll be keen to see off any new challengers Klopp might bring in this summer.