Liverpool defender Nat Phillips scored a huge goal on Saturday that could determine the outcome of the Championship relegation fight.
The 28-year-old is currently on loan at second tier Derby County and has played 32 games for the Rams this season. He saved his first goal for the club for the perfect time and his header against Hull City could be the moment that keeps Derby in the Championship.
It was the only goal of the game at the MKM Stadium and the result saw Derby move out of the bottom three, leapfrogging Hull in the process. The 1-0 victory means the Midlands club sits just a point ahead of the relegation places but, crucially, is in 19th spot and would need an unlikely set of results to go down next weekend on the final day of the season.
Derby is level on 49 points with Preston North End (20th) and Luton Town (21st) but has the best goal difference of the teams. It is also a point clear of Hull (22nd) and three ahead of Plymouth Argyle (23rd), but with a goal difference that is 28 better than the latter, the Pilgrims essentially can’t catch Derby.
Without Phillips ’ goal, the Rams would head into next Saturday’s concluding round of fixtures in the relegation zone and needing a win to avoid the drop. Instead, Derby now only needs to better or equal at least one of Preston, Luton or Hull’s results on the final day of the season. In all likelihood, a defeat could even be enough for John Eustace’s side.
So, it wasn’t a bad time for the on-loan Liverpool man to net his first goal for the club. “It feels great. I’ve had a few of the lads getting on to me about the fact I’ve not scored,” Phillips told Derby’s website. “I had to stay patient and I felt like it’s been coming. I told them all along: ‘When it comes it’ll be an important one’.”
Phillips headed in from a Craig Forsyth free-kick with six minutes remaining after surviving a spate of early chances for the hosts.
(Image: (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images))
“Hull started quick, they started well,” he added. “There were a few moments where we were up against it and we had to be resilient to keep them out. Also, keeping that belief throughout the game that we would get our chance. We had a few throughout the game, a few moments. We just had to keep believing that our moment would come.
“Today’s a great day, but like you say, we’ve still got another big, important game to finish the season strong,” the Bolton-born center-back added.
It comes on a day of significant results at the bottom of the Championship. Cardiff City’s 0-0 draw consigned it to relegation to their third tier, while wins for Luton and Plymouth ensured it will be a tense final day next Saturday.
As for Phillips, he is currently on loan at his fifth club, having previously enjoyed spells at Stuttgart, Bournemouth, Celtic and Cardiff.
The Liverpool academy graduate was memorably forced into the limelight during the injury-ravaged 2020/21 season when he began the campaign as fifth-choice center-back but went on to play 17 times in the Premier League. Phillips even played 180 minutes over two Champions League legs against Real Madrid but hasn’t played competitively for the Reds since January 2023. With his contract set to expire this summer, it looks likely that his nine-year association with the club will conclude.
