Ryan Gravenberch was Liverpool’s standout player during Sunday’s win over Everton, according to former midfielder Danny Murphy.
Mohamed Salah ultimately scooped the official Man of the Match award having got the go-ahead first-half goal for the Reds, but in Murphy‘s view, he was not the best player on the pitch.
Instead, that was Gravenberch, who came through some recent patchy form to prove himself as the ‘biggest influence’ on a good day for Liverpool.
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Gravenberch’s performance key to Liverpool win – Murphy
Gravenberch has had a difficult season, looking a far cry from the player who deservedly won the Premier League’s Young Player of the Year award last term.
There were some signs of that on Sunday as well, with the Dutchman failing to connect with some simple passes early on.
But while offering his analysis for BBC Match of the Day, Murphy claimed that Gravenberch soon stepped up to become the catalyst for a big Liverpool win.
“I thought Liverpool did some good things from a creative point of view,” said the pundit. “They weren’t great defensively, it was a bit chaotic at times, they were all over the place. But from a creative aspect and a footballing perspective, they played better.”
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“Robbo [Andy Robertson] helped, being back in at left-back, calmer. I thought the biggest influence was Gravenberch, playing like we saw a lot of him last season, going past people, being confident on the ball, dictating play, creating attacks. They just seemed a bit freer and a bit more well-balanced in terms of their attacking play.
“The press was a bit better,” Murphy added. “They’ve been criticised a lot this season, and rightly so, for their poor pressing. Robbo’s dictating there to push on, which we know he loves to do, again the influence he has on this team.
“I thought Gravenberch was Liverpool’s best player today, he did so many good things.”
In truth, Gravenberch had looked slightly better against Paris Saint-Germain, slaloming forward and taking control of the midfield in a way we have not seen enough of this season.
It isn’t perfect, but he’s getting closer to his best, and that is a sure-fire way to ensure Liverpool win more games across the next five fixtures.
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