:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/28585703/469025073.0.jpg)
Hot off his debut at Craven Cottage in Liverpool's 3-2 victory over Fulham, Joao Carlos Teixeira is still a bit awestruck at finally making it onto the pitch for the senior team. Speaking to Portuguese news outlet Record, Teixeira was abuzz about his first taste of the first team.
"I'm very happy, it was a great experience and my debut in the Premier League," the youngster said. "And to play alongside Gerrard, Suarez and Coutinho has been very good. It was something incredible. I haven't had time to stop and think. Yesterday [Wednesday] was very full of emotions and very busy day.
"I received great messages, now I rest from all this, reflect and continue to work, because the coach gave me confidence and I gave him my best. I think I did well and now I will work on getting more opportunities. He called me and told me what I had to do on the pitch. Then said to be confident and to shoot at goal too, because he believed I was going to score a goal."
Rodgers displayed a huge confidence himself in the player by substituting him into a match that was not yet won but that Liverpool were desperate to claw back a full three points from. Teixeira may not have scored a goal, but he can certainly be proud of his debut and the accolades earned post-match from his captain.
"The first to talk to me was Gerrard," Teixeira continued, "who said this was only the beginning and that now I had to work the hardest, then get even higher. Suarez told me before the game to be calm and to enjoy the moment because it was the first time."
In a moment where butterflies were likely to be flapping up a storm in Teixeira's stomach, such down to earth advice from his captain and the club's leading scorer probably went a long way to calm the player's nerves. From the looks of his on-pitch performance, though, he may already possess an assuredness not often seen on a player's debut.
