Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott saw his struggles continue on loan at Valencia, with the star sent off in the latest clash for the Spanish side against Villarreal

Harvey Elliott's struggles at Valencia have gone from bad to worse, as the Liverpool loanee picked up a costly red card in his side's defeat to Villarreal over the weekend.

The attacking midfielder has struggled to assert himself in his time with the Spanish club so far, which was a loan aimed at building his career up again after a difficult season at Aston Villa last time out.

So far, though, Elliott has walked into a team that has been in a far from ideal place. Sitting in the relegation zone of La Liga, Valencia has already changed its manager once this campaign, following protests from supporters about the running of the club.

During all the chaos, the 23-year-old has had to patiently wait for his chance, as he adapts to the new culture and environment, while seeing his opportunities limited to those from the bench.

While he hasn't been able to make that one key contribution that turns things around for Valencia, his difficulties took another twist with a sending off against Villarreal in bizarre circumstances.

Elliott appeared to be cautioned twice by the referee in quick succession late in the game for disagreeing with a decision, with the quickfire yellows resulting in a sending off. The match was level at 1-1 at the time, with Georges Mikautadze then winning it in the 96th minute for the visitors, coming as yet another blow for the hosts.

Valencia boss Javier Aguirre fumed at the decision, though he didn't quite take the heat off of the Liverpool loanee at the same time, while the Spanish media was brutal in its assessment of his contribution.

Superdeporte gave Elliott a zero out of 10 rating, stating: "Learning Spanish is the least of it. What's more important is that he learns what it means to wear the Valencia CF shirt.

"He was sent off for protesting. Instead of focusing on winning the match, he started doing something inappropriate with the referee. And although it was a ridiculous sending-off that shows how thin-skinned he is about Valencia CF, the Englishman should have spared himself the trouble."

Plazadeportiva also gave him a score of zero, and said: "He was being involved, but he left the team with ten men for protesting. Unnecessary."

As for Eldesmarque, it gave the Liverpool star a one out of 10, and added: "Came on for Javi Guerra in the 69th minute. He drifted out to the right wing and got involved, but wasn't decisive. He had time to pick up two yellow cards, leaving his team with 10 men."

It has been yet another brutal reality check for Elliott, as he faces yet another uphill battle to get into his team's plans for the future, while Valencia needs results to turn quickly.

With the midfielder set to serve a one-match suspension, he will need to work hard on his return to show he can make a real difference for the side.