Liverpool youngster Harvey Elliott wants to shed his ‘super-sub’ tag as quickly as possible but knows he will have to be patient as he tries to break into an established midfield.

The 20-year-old came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner at Crystal Palace at the weekend – not the first time he has made an impact with an energetic substitute appearance.

However, the summer overhaul which brought in World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister, Hungary captain Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch after a season at Bayern Munich means most of Elliott’s starts have been restricted to minor competitions like the Europa League.

He will get another chance in the dead rubber against Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels and accepts the more pitch time he gets the more he can build towards his goal of becoming a regular starter.

“I don’t really want to be known as a super-sub,” said Elliott, who was looking like becoming an established starter for manager Jurgen Klopp until an horrific dislocation fracture of his ankle in September 2021 which sidelined him for four months.

“It’s a great headline but at the same time I want to be in the team.

“It’s time for myself to establish myself in that position again and hopefully get a good run of games but, at the same time, I need to be patient as well and maybe be the super-sub as well.”

Klopp had some sympathy for the youngster but absolutely no doubt in his talent.

“What we forget sometimes is that Harvey is still super young but has played an incredible amount of games already and before his serious injury he was the best player we had available,” Klopp said.

“It took him a while to get back up to speed again but with his skill-set he should be super influential but a player like him needs the finishes as well, the shot and the last pass, and the last game was a sign of how good this boy can be.”

Although only 20, Elliott is considered one of the senior players in the squad in Belgium as more than half are aged 21 and under, with the average age of the travelling party just short of 22.

With Liverpool already qualified as group winners, Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have all been left at home with Manchester United on Sunday in mind.

Also missing is Mac Allister, whose knee injury sustained against Sheffield United last week is causing slightly more issues than expected, while centre-back Joel Matip underwent surgery on Thursday on his ACL injury which is likely to rule him out for the rest of the season.

“They (medical staff) have explained it to me every single day why he is not ready yet and it’s a bit more tricky than we thought,” added Klopp.

“The stud went through the muscle pretty much to the bone so now we have to wait until the bone is healed and until Macca can deal with the pain. We have to make sure there is no infection and nothing happens.

“I’ve never had this injury with one of my players before but now we have it and I hope it will not take that long to heal.

“I would like to say it is day by day but then it looks like he could be ready for the next game but they say he will not be ready for that. I hope the next three or four days he makes big steps and we will see.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed Ryan Gravenberch’s “obvious talent” as the midfielder paved the way for the 2-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise with his first goal for the club.

The Netherlands international, a £34million summer signing from Bayern Munich, made only his third start of the season and after impressing in the first European outing another all-round performance was capped with what he described as “the easiest goal of my career”.

Gravenberch capitalised on an error from goalkeeper Anthony Moris, who fumbled Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot to present a tap-in for the 21-year-old a minute before half-time.

It was a crucial goal as Liverpool had wasted a number of chances prior to that and although they were rarely in trouble Diogo Jota’s goal in added time at the end of the second half secured a second successive Europa League victory.

“It is really obvious how good he is, the talent he is,” said Klopp of a player who arrived on transfer deadline so has had to be gradually introduced to English football with three Premier League substitute appearances.

“He is enjoying the situation and it is very important the confidence back, that is really good to see.

“We thought he might be able to play 90 (minutes), we wanted to give him 90 but we saw he dropped a bit so that’s why we took him off.”

Jota responded to Saturday’s sending off for two yellow cards – which means he is suspended for Sunday’s trip to Brighton – with his fourth goal of the season.

“How should he deal with it? I knew it would be difficult. That (controversial defeat to Tottenham) is long ago and we are over that and Diogo is over it as well. We are not children.

“From a focus point of view, it was not a problem to focus on the game, in the game it was a problem to keep being focused because that was how it looked a little bit.

“We got a bit sluggish, I didn’t like that too much but that was nothing to do with the last game or the last week. That’s the challenge in football any way.”

Two successive wins puts Liverpool two points clear at the top of Group E and victory over Toulouse, two points behind, in three weeks’ time would put them on the verge of qualification for the knockout stages.

But it was far from the sort of free-flowing performance seen by the side this season as they missed a number of chances and then started to lose their way in the second half.

“(I liked) the start and the result. The goals, the chances we created. What I didn’t like is we lost rhythm after 25 minutes,” Klopp added.

“It’s very difficult to keep rhythm in games like this but it’s important. We should have scored earlier but got the second in stoppage time.

“We should use our chances better more often if we want to be successful in competitions but I’m not angry or concerned, it’s just how it is. We know we have to do better.

“It was a mature professional performance, we got the result we wanted but know we can do better.”

Union coach Alexander Blessin knew his side were up against it before a ball was even kicked but was disappointed they did not gain more confidence from keeping their hosts at bay for almost the entire first half.

“In the end I’m proud of the team, but we saw the strength of Liverpool,” he said.

“I had the feeling that the game changed (after Liverpool’s start) and in those moments you need it to go your way.”

Ryan Gravenberch benefited from an error by Union Saint-Gilloise goalkeeper Anthony Moris to score his first goal for the club as Liverpool laboured to a 2-0 Europa League victory to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group E.

For all the attacking firepower at their disposal – and it was considerable with Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota boasting 248 goals between them – it was a 21-year-old former Ajax and Bayern Munich midfielder who had scored just nine in five years who popped up with the breakthrough at a crucial moment a minute before half-time.

That two of the front three were replaced at the interval was more down to a prepared plan rather than a reflection of their first-half contributions but if either had been anywhere close to their sharpest the game would have been out of sight before Gravenberch’s intervention.

Jota remained on for the whole game and scored the second with a breakaway in added time to ease any late nerves.

Salah’s first Europa League start for the club would have led to speculation about just how much devastation he could inflict, especially after his 16-minute cameo in their first European game produced a goal, an assist and a couple of other chances.

In his 150th game at Anfield he should have added to the 103 he has scored already on this ground as early as the fifth minute.

The excellent young centre-back Jarrell Quansah, deputising for rested captain Virgil van Dijk, won the ball high in midfield and released the Egypt international through the middle but he could not beat the goalkeeper.

It was the beginning of a long list of chances ultimately concluded by Gravenberch’s close-range effort and while Liverpool never looked in any real danger after Gustaf Nilsson had headed over Union’s best midway through the first half until the latter stages the game was more of a grind than it should have been.

Nunez’s 10th-minute rebound goal from Gravenberch’s shot was flagged offside and, on this occasion, UEFA’s VAR officials swiftly made the correct call.

A video replay only increased the Uruguay international’s embarrassment with his next effort, however, as he screwed wide from six yards having opted to go with his right instead of left foot for Salah’s cross after Harvey Elliott had carried ball effortless through the Union midfield.

A weak Salah header straight at the goalkeeper, a Jota penalty claim turned down and a Nunez shot tipped around the near post from Ibrahima Konate’s diagonal pass all followed as chances came and went.

After all just about withstanding all that in-your-face pressure Union were undone from their own attacking corner as captain-for-the-night Trent Alexander-Arnold broke down the left, cut inside on his right foot and drilled in a low shot which bounced in front of Moris.

It was not the most vicious of strikes and the Luxembourg international should have done better than to spill the ball a couple of yards in front of him.

It was all the encouragement Gravenberch needed and he popped home the rebound from close range.

A triple half-time substitution brought an end to the participation of the misfiring Salah and Nunez and also midfielder Wataru Endo as Jurgen Klopp sent on Luis Diaz, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister – who was made to wait 45 minutes to face his brother Kevin in the opposition defence.

After an early scare when Alisson Becker missed his punch at a corner and almost turned the ball into his own net only for Quansah to sweep up behind him.

Moris tipped over a Jota header and did even better denying Gravenberch a second from a curling shot and even when he was beaten by Diaz his left-hand post came to his aid, while Jones narrowly missed the target with a low shot.

Jota’s goal made the game safe and victory over Toulouse, two points behind, at Anfield in three weeks will go a long way to securing qualification to the knockout stages but Liverpool cannot afford to be so sloppy if they want to enjoy comfortable progress.

Bayer Leverkusen waltzed into the Europa League semi-finals with a 4-1 defeat of Union Saint-Gilloise, sealing a 5-2 win on aggregate.

Xavi Alonso's Leverkusen went into Thursday's quarter-final second leg without a win in their past three visits to Belgium in European matches, but the Bundesliga side got the job done.

Moussa Diaby's coolly taken goal settled their nerves in the second minute, with Mitchel Bakker drilling in from close range to double the visitors' lead before half-time.

Bakker played a key role in Leverkusen's third, pressuring Union goalkeeper Anthony Moris into a dreadful clearance which was turned into an empty net by Jeremie Frimpong following what had been a bright start to the second half from the hosts.

Union got their reward for a spirited response when Casper Terho pulled one back with a deflected strike, but it proved to be only a consolation, with Adam Hlozek on hand to add further gloss to Leverkusen's win late on.

Leverkusen are into their first European semi-final since making the last four of the Champions League in 2002.

A fine finish from Florian Wirtz rescued Bayer Leverkusen a 1-1 draw at home to Union Saint-Gilloise in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

Wirtz struck in the 82nd minute just when it appeared a wasteful Leverkusen performance would make them the latest victims of Union's sensational fairy-tale story.

In the Belgian second tier just two years ago and now enjoying their first European campaign since 1964-65, Union had already eliminated another Bundesliga side in namesakes Union Berlin.

Victor Boniface scored twice in the away leg of that last-16 tie and added a sixth Europa League goal of the season when he calmly steered a low finish past Lukas Hradecky from the left-hand side of the penalty area six minutes into the second half on Thursday.

The closest either team had come to scoring prior to that had been when Jonathan Tah unwittingly divert the ball against his own crossbar with his elbow from an Union corner.

Leverkusen did not lack endeavour, but the requisite quality was missing until Wirtz fired in a potentially vital equaliser from outside the area.

Manchester United must overcome Europa League specialists Sevilla in order to reach a semi-final against either Juventus or Sporting CP.

United defeated Real Betis in the last 16 and will now face their city rivals Sevilla, six-time winners of the UEFA Cup and Europa League.

The sides have met three times previously, with Sevilla knocking United out of the 2017-18 Champions League over a two-legged tie before beating the Red Devils again in a one-off 2019-20 Europa League semi-final.

It is a daunting draw for United, who could then have to play Juventus in the last four.

The semi-final draw, which was also conducted on Friday, paired the winners of United's tie with Juventus or Sporting, who eliminated Arsenal on Thursday.

Even in the final, should Erik ten Hag's men make it that far, United could be set for a reunion with former manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho's Roma were drawn against Feyenoord in the quarter-finals in a repeat of last season's Europa Conference League final, which the Giallorossi won.

Bayer Leverkusen meet Union Saint-Gilloise in the final last-eight tie, playing for the right to face Roma or Feyenoord.

Europa League quarter-final draw in full:

Manchester United v Sevilla
Juventus v Sporting CP
Bayer Leverkusen v Union Saint-Gilloise
Feyenoord v Roma