Everton stunned Liverpool during Wednesday night’s Merseyside derby and Wayne Rooney gave his take on Leeds United loanee Jack Harrison’s display.
The Premier League title race is proving to be just as exciting as the hunt for automatic promotion in the Championship. Every game is a must-win match for Liverpool and Arsenal in order to catch Man City.
But Liverpool looked tired and a bit shell-shocked on Wednesday night at Goodison Park as Sean Dyche’s side took full advantage. Everton deserved their 2-0 win and Harrison lasted the entire 90 minutes.
Harrison thought he had helped Everton win a penalty with the score 0-0. The Leeds man’s gorgeous cross saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin go round Alisson and the referee pointed to the spot, only to be offside.
The 27-year-old’s long-term future remains unclear but he has impressed at Everton with the latest display summing Harrison up. Phil Hay recently predicted whether if Harrison would secure a permanent exit.
Everton icon Wayne Rooney was in attendance as a pundit on Sky Sports‘ coverage of the match and while he said Harrison did little with the ball, he was impressed with his efforts off the ball.
Rooney’s verdict of Leeds star Harrison
“Harrison, not so much with the ball but the work rate he’s put in trying to double up and help out. He helped get the fans involved and made it into a real derby,” Rooney said of Harrison’s efforts.
What a win for Everton. In the midst of chaos off the pitch, they produced their best outing of the season on Wednesday night and Harrison was central to it.
Evidence of that comes from WhoScored, who state Harrison laid on five key passes across the game.
Six dribbles and a match rating of 8.3 was also notched as Harrison proved to be effective defensively with two tackles and blocks as well.
A really hard working performance from Harrison as his loan at Everton gets nears decision time.
Local media praised Everton loanee Harrison
It is unclear if Daniel Farke would be keen on luring Harrison back to Elland Road. Whether Leeds and the manager would be open to his return remains to be seen but fans are not going to forgive him lightly.
The chances are that Harrison will leave Leeds permanently in the summer and it might be that he ends up at Everton on a permanent basis. The Echo gave Harrison a rating of 9/10 for his ‘industrious’ display.
It sees Everton take a massive step towards safety in the Premier League and the chances are that if Everton do stay up, then signing him from Leeds beyond the summer is a no-brainer, for all involved.