Harvey Elliott apologises to Valencia manager after strange red card and celebrates first goal for the team

Harvey Elliott has made an impact with Valencia, scoring his first goal for the Spanish side during his first start in a 6-0 victory over Taverneris in the first round of the Copa del Rey on Tuesday evening.

Liverpool's on-loan player scored his team's fourth goal from a direct free-kick in his first appearance since being sent off during the defeat against Villarreal, which ended 2-1 in LaLiga, about three weeks ago, after receiving two consecutive yellow cards for talking to the referee.

Javier Aguirre, Valencia's manager, revealed that Elliott apologized after his red card incident, explaining that he did not understand the reasons for his dismissal from the match due to his lack of proficiency in Spanish. He said: "He came to apologize because he did not know the reasons for his sending off, as he barely speaks Spanish."

The Mexican coach added: "He is a good player and a great person, and we hope to be able to involve him regularly with the team."

Harvey Elliott participated in midfield and completed the match for the first time for 90 minutes since January, after having a rare game with Aston Villa against Red Bull Salzburg in the UEFA Europa League during his previous loan spell.

Regarding the player's position, Aguirre said: "A good player can play anywhere, you can place him in midfield or on the wing, but he doesn't feel completely comfortable on the flanks, so I see him closer to the penalty area."

Since joining Valencia on loan for the season at the beginning of September, Elliott has participated in six LaLiga matches as a substitute, along with a starting appearance against Taverner, totaling 242 minutes. This figure is just 42 minutes short of his total playing time throughout last season.

The match saw a large attendance of over 32,000 spectators, including around 5,000 fans from Tavernes, after the team had to move the fixture to the Mestalla due to their municipal stadium's inability to accommodate more than 2,000 spectators.