Liverpool U21 coach Barry Lewtas praised Arthur Melo after the midfielder was handed his first start for the club during the 1-0 victory over Leicester City.

Lewtas admitted the decision to incorporate the 22-cap Brazilian into the fixture, which was settled by Layton Stewart's first-half strike, is one he welcomed with open arms and was made easier following the club's move to their state-of-the-art £50m AXA Training Centre in November 2020.

“They're top-level professionals," Lewtas told Liverpoolfc.com, following the 1-0 victory.

"They add to our group as well, not just in terms of our performance but our young lads get to see what elite looks like.

“That's obviously what sometimes this group can do. We talk about it a lot: we're in the same building, we work closely together on how we want to play."