Liverpool got back to winning ways on Tuesday by beating AC Milan in Italy – with Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai all scoring for the Reds
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock believes the Reds have found their new holding midfielder in Ryan Gravenberch – thus solving a major transfer dilemma.
Liverpool banished the trauma of its 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest last Saturday by beating AC Milan 3-1 in the San Siro. Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai found the net on Tuesday to give Liverpool its first Champions League win of the term.
Gravenberch, 22, produced a masterclass in the No. 6 role… and not for the first time this season. The Netherlands international has flourished in the position under new head coach Arne Slot, even displacing the impressive Wataru Endo.
A lot of the talk during the summer transfer window was centered around that No. 6 role, with Liverpool expected to sign a new holding midfielder. Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad was close to joining the Reds but decided against a transfer to stay with his boyhood team.
It seemed as if Slot would be short in midfield as a result, but Gravenberch has proven his worth as a holding midfielder. Warnock, who played 67 times for the Reds, was impressed with Gravenberch’s latest performance at the San Siro.
“The standout performer of the night was Ryan Gravenberch in that No. 6 position, the holding role,” Warnock told BBC Radio 5 Live after the game. “What is important to Arne Slot is his two holding midfielders. In the first 15-minutes, the balance wasn’t right between Mac Allister and Gravenberch. The balance in midfield which they corrected altered the game for Liverpool.”
Slot, who celebrated his 46th birthday on Tuesday, also shared his thoughts on the game. He said to Amazon Prime Video: “A great way to spend my birthday. We have more than 11 players and the ones that came in did well.
“You wouldn’t have said this after five minutes, but after we did well. Losing Saturday was a blow and to be 1-0 down early tonight, you are wondering how we react. But if you can play so good it is – I won’t say a disgrace – unbelievable you lose to Forest at home if you can play like this today.
“I would have played Cody Gakpo on Saturday but he played two games for the national side. Today was more a team display than an individual display.”
