Liverpool came from behind to defeat Luton 4-1 at Anfield on Wednesday night, extending their lead at the top of the Premier League table to four points.
The Reds were deprived of several key players through injury but those who did feature stepped up in the team’s hour of need, with four different goalscorers for Jurgen Klopp’s side as Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz and Harvey Elliott all struck.
However, there was one other player in red who can lay claim to the tag of unsung hero, giving a tremendous overall performance, as borne out by the statistics from tonight’s match.
As per Sofascore, Ryan Gravenberch won eight duels for Liverpool (joint-second highest of any Reds player), while also making five tackles, one clearance and one interception.
The 21-year-old had a very tidy game in possession, too, completing all but four of his passes, recording a 100% dribble success rate and executing two key passes.
The £150,000-per-week midfielder (Capology) came under the microscope earlier this month when TV cameras picked out Klopp berating him for substandard pressing in the lead-up to Arsenal’s opening goal in their 3-1 win over Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.
However, this was a redemptive performance from Gravenberch, who stepped up in the absences of Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones and Thiago Alcantara to excel in the middle of the park.
The Hungary captain might be fit for the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, all going well, but the Dutchman put his best foot forward tonight and may well have left enough of an impression on his manager to be entrusted with a start at Wembley.
This is the kind of display that we love seeing from the 21-year-old, and hopefully he can build upon it during Liverpool’s injury crisis.
#Ep102 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️