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Peter Crouch was left raving about Liverpool youngster Rhys Williams after his impressive performance on Tuesday night at Anfield.

The 19-year-old defender was thrown into the action as a first-half substitute during the Champions League group stage match against Danish outfit FC Midtjylland.

After Fabinho was forced off with an injury, Reds centre-back Williams entered the contest and put in a solid performance alongside Joe Gomez in the heart of defence.

The youngster only made his first-team debut this season and has now played in four senior games, but there could now be plenty more around the corner due to injuries at the back to Virgil van Dijk and now stand-in centre-back Fabinho.

Jurgen Klopp’s side ran out 2-0 winners against Midtjylland courtesy of second-half goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah, but the manager has a lot of contemplating to do when it comes to his defence.

Crouch gave a glowing verdict of teenager Williams for his European performance:

“Got to give Rhys Williams a shoutout tonight. He did step in there and didn’t put a foot wrong really,” Crouch told BT Sport 3 (10:08pm, 27 October).

TBR’s View:

It would’ve been easy for Williams to crumble under the pressure of being thrown onto the Champions League stage out of the blue, but he smoothly fitted into the XI and may have given himself a good chance of more first-team minutes this season.

The ball-playing centre-back is a strong commanding figure for his age and there may be a window of opportunity for him to seriously make a name for himself on Merseyside, as he’s a highly-rated talent to come through the academy.

Liverpool host West Ham at the weekend in a Premier League fixture and it would be another big step if he gets a chance in that match, but the early signs are that he can deal with senior football.