Arne Slot admitted he was very happy with the quality of Ryan Gravenberch’s performance against Bologna.
The former Feyenoord coach said so TNT Sports who had congratulated his compatriot another “great performance” after Liverpool’s last win in the Champions League.
The Merseysiders secured a 2-0 win against the Serie A side, a result that sees the Premier League title contenders move up to fifth in the table by six points.
Score eight wins in first nine Slot games in charge of Merseyside giants. It wasn’t a bad start given the Dutchman has been tasked with filling the shoes of talismanic former boss Jurgen Klopp at Anfield.
Available evidence would indicate that he is excellent in the role so far.
Arne Slot was very happy with Ryan Gravenberch after Bologna
The former AZ Alkmaar boss’ settling-in period will no doubt have been helped in no small part by the rejuvenation of Ryan Gravenberch at Liverpool.
“I was delighted with him. I don’t say that to the players at half-time because there’s still 45 minutes to go, but after the game I said ‘great performance again.’ said the 46-year-old TNT Sports (via BBC Sports).
“Ryan was outstanding again today.”
Statistically speaking, it’s hard to argue with that point of view. The 22-year-old midfielder earned a final score of 7.1/10 for his troubles against Bologna, according to the rating. Sofa score.
There was much to admire about his work on the ball as he completed 91% of his passes (41/45) and provided two key assists.
Gravenberch can’t be accused of shirking his defensive duties in midfield either, winning ground duels 4/7. However, a mistake led to an opposition shot on the night.
Could Ryan Gravenberch’s performance levels drop after the international break?
It is one fair question to ask so much in no.38 and his new boss, Arne Slot.
By the Liverpool manager’s own admission, the Reds are yet to face genuinely elite opposition, which has certainly helped their strong start to the 2024/25 campaign.
“They look very, very good, of course! I’m still talking about issue number 6. I think Gravenberch, for this type of game, could discover itself.” Damien Delaney said Virgin Media Sports when discussing the upcoming games against Chelsea and Arsenal after the international break.
“So that’s where, I don’t want to say they’re getting away with it, but so far so good.”
Equally, of course, it would be remiss of any commentator to simply assume that the Premier League leaders top the table entirely by luck or with the help of the fixture list.
The quality of football on display, not to mention the consistency of Gravenberch’s performances this term, has been very encouraging for the most part.
There are bigger challenges ahead, as Liverpool will no doubt soon discover when they face Chelsea and Arsenal in the space of a week later in October.
That said, you’d be hard-pressed to confidently back this Slot team, in rude form, to collapse after the international break.
Judging by the Reds boss’ latest comments, he’s also not worried about Ryan Gravenberch faltering anytime soon.
