Sky Sports: Coady from Russia with love

Conor Coady fulfilled a dream by making his debut appearance in Liverpool's first team and is now focused on getting another chance.

The locally-born 19-year-old, who has progressed through the club's Academy since joining aged eight, gave a good account of himself in Thursday's 1-0 Europa League defeat by Anzhi Makhachkala.

A cold night in Moscow against opponents flying high in the Russian Premier League was a tough proposition for Coady, the club's Under 21 team captain, after he was asked to perform the holding role in midfield.

But he came through without too much alarm to give manager Brendan Rodgers more hope for the future, having already fast-tracked the likes of Raheem Sterling, Suso and Andre Wisdom into the first team due to injuries and a lack of numbers.

"I loved it. It is every boy's dream to make his debut for Liverpool," said Coady.

"I felt I had a good game. The gaffer is going to give youngsters a chance and for myself to get a chance was fantastic. I put my all into it and was made up to make my debut.

"You have to be patient and bide your time and hopefully your chance will come. You just have to keep working hard in training."

Coady often found himself in close proximity to former Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o, Anzhi's marquee signing, as the Cameroon international dropped deep to receive the ball.

And the youngster relished the challenge, as he said: "It is always good to play against the best players in the world and Eto'o has been in his time. He has that bit of class about him."

Source: Sky Sports