Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, a $43m summer signing from Bayern Munich, made his full Anfield debut for his new club against Leicester on Wednesday night.
“As the gaffer says, the best playmaker in the world is counter-pressing,” Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders pointed out in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s Carabao Cup third clash with Leicester.
Liverpool knew that Enzo Maresca, the former Manchester City assistant who has taken charge of Leicester and steered it to the top of the Championship following its shock relegation, would be brave in his approach at Anfield. And sure enough, the Foxes looked to play out from the back with almost every goal kick, prompting a torrent of Liverpool pressure.
Leicester would turn the ball over twice in its own penalty area, and twice more just on the edge. Liverpool intercepted the ball in advanced positions on five occasions, and made three successful tackles deep into enemy territory.
In the build-up to all three of its goals, the host won it back soon after losing it. Most notably, Harvey Elliott raced back to make a sliding challenge after Dominik Szoboszlai’s loose pass, and the ball looped out to Jarell Quansah, who charged down the line and teed up Diogo Jota with his cut-back. Watching on from the sidelines, Jürgen Klopp would have been delighted.
Another playmaker in action for the Reds, this time at the individual level, was Ryan Gravenberch. The Dutchman set up the equalizer for Cody Gakpo for his second assist in as many starts, a tally only one Reds midfielder — Jordan Henderson (three) — surpassed in the entirety of last season.
It was truly something out of nothing, the kind of low-block lock-picking that none of last season’s midfielders, with the possible exception of Thiago, could consistently produce in the final third.
And yet still, much like last week against LASK in the Europa League, you’re left with the feeling that there’s more to come despite the assist.
There was a spell in the 10 or so minutes before half-time where Liverpool was struggling to build up from the back, knocking it around among the defenders without making any real progress up the pitch. This was when you wanted to see someone like Gravenberch take a grip of the game by offering himself as a passing option.
After all, as we’d seen at his previous clubs and indeed against LASK, his press resistance is his biggest weapon. He’s able to instantly turn away from his marker as he takes the ball, which opens up space to run into and facilitates dangerous attacks.
But here, he was a little hesitant to stray from his left-sided number eight position to find room, and that meant the weapon was concealed by the compact Leicester shape.
Still, when he can combine the ball progression from deeper areas and the killer final-third passing in a sustained 90-minute performance, it’s clear that Liverpool will have a serious player on its hands.
