Nat Phillips has earned praise from former Manchester City star Micah Richards for his recent performances.
The Liverpool centre-back has been thrown in the deep end this season in the absence of the club’s senior defenders.
Injuries to Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip has meant that Jurgen Klopp has been forced to turn to Phillips on plenty of occasions.
Despite having not been a regular member of the first-team set-up before this season, Phillips has performed admirably and even earned the club’s player of the month award for March.
Richards has hailed Phillips’ ability to handle the pressure when been dealt with a difficult situation, praising his recent performance against Real Madrid in the process.
"Nat Phillips has had an unenviable task coming into Liverpool’s team,” Richards wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
“No matter what he does, he is always going to be compared with Virgil van Dijk. That isn’t fair on a young lad and, at times, it has almost been impossible for him.
"So I wanted to ensure he got the credit he deserved for his display against Real Madrid. Karim Benzema is one of the world’s best strikers but Phillips kept him quiet.
"I’m not saying he’s going to be a Liverpool regular for 10 years – but he showed he can become a very good top flight defender."
