Blackburn Rovers' Harvey Elliott during the Sky Bet Championship match at Vicarage Road, London.

Harvey Elliott bags another assist as Marko Grujic returns to the Champions League

Harvey Elliott‘s bright start at Blackburn continued on a personal level on Tuesday night, with another assist for the Championship club despite a 4-2 loss to Reading.

Elliott has been in top form since making the surprise loan switch to Blackburn at the end of the transfer window, having scored one and assisted another in a 4-0 win at Coventry on Saturday.

Immediately stepping into a first-choice role, the 17-year-old has quickly become a favourite at Ewood Park, and strengthened this further as Reading arrived for a midweek tie.

Rovers got off to the worst start possible as Yakou Meite capitalised on a mixup to score within nine seconds for the Royals, but Blackburn were level under three minutes later.

Adam Armstrong was the scorer, and Elliott the creator, with the Liverpool loanee picking up the ball on the right and whipping in a cross to his fellow forward towards the near post, as the scoreline reached 1-1 in swift fashion.

Elliott played his third consecutive full 90 minutes for Rovers, but ended this outing in defeat as, despite another goal from Armstrong in the second half, Michael Olise, Josh Laurent and Lucas Joao sealed a comfortable victory for Reading.

The teenager was heavily involved throughout, with his 62 touches the highest among Tony Mowbray’s front three, significantly ahead of Armstrong (30) and Ben Brereton (44).

And these results can be formative for the young Reds winger, whose time in the Championship will hopefully steel him for a renewed challenge for a place at Anfield next season.

Elsewhere on Tuesday night, Marko Grujic made his return to the Champions League after three years away, coming off the bench to make his debut for Porto in their 2-0 victory over Olympiakos.

Grujic only played 20 minutes, having replaced Otavio midway through the second half, but looked to put himself about with his trademark brand of robust midfield play.

In League One, Ben Woodburn also came off the bench as Blackpool suffered another defeat in a miserable run under Neil Critchley, this time ending with nine men in a 1-0 loss at Wimbledon.

Woodburn took over from Sullay Kaikai in the 55th minute, but could do little to influence the game as the Tangerines failed to overturn Callum Reilly’s early strike.

Earlier in the week, Adam Lewis remains out of the starting picture for Amiens, but at least made a minute-long cameo in their 2-0 win at Sochaux on Monday night, having spent the previous game as an unused substitute.


Liverpool Loan Watch Roundup

SINSHEIM, GERMANY - Tuesday, August 15, 2017: Liverpool's substitute Marko Grujic before the UEFA Champions League Play-Off 1st Leg match between TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and Liverpool at the Rhein-Neckar-Arena. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

  • Harvey Elliott (Blackburn) – 90 mins vs. Reading, assist
  • Marko Grujic (Porto) – 20 mins vs. Olympiakos
  • Ben Woodburn (Blackpool) – 25 mins vs. Wimbledon
  • Adam Lewis (Amiens) – 1 min vs. Sochaux

Unused: Morgan Boyes