It is appropriate that in this strangest of seasons Liverpool are on the verge of Champions League qualification courtesy of the unlikeliest of leaders. After Alisson’s heroics at West Bromwich Albion came Nat Phillips’ commanding night at Burnley; and now only Roy Hodgson, taking charge of Crystal Palace for the final time, stands between them and a fifth successive season among the European elite.
Phillips epitomised Liverpool’s performance at Turf Moor along with the character that has hauled Jürgen Klopp’s team into the top four with one game to play. There was a nervous start, a clinical goal, the defender’s first in a Liverpool shirt, and a resolute display to preserve a valuable clean sheet.
