"He played as if he had never been away" - Dutch media hail Liverpool star's showing in Netherlands win
The media in the Netherlands hailed Liverpool midfielder Ryan Gravenberch for his performance in their 5-2 UEFA Nations League win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. He wasn't the only Reds player in the Dutch team, which also has captain Virgil van Dijk and attacker Cody Gakpo.
It was an impressive performance from Gravenberch, who completed two dribbles and created two chances. He completed 67 passes with an accuracy of 92% and also looked confident in defense, winning four duels, making three interceptions, and eight recoveries.
The Dutch media took notice of the Liverpool midfielder's performance. Voetbal Primeur rated him 7.5/10 and said (via Liverpool.com):
"His return to the Dutch national team, but he played as if he had never been away. Gravenberch clearly brought his Liverpool form with him and was very comfortable on the ball."
Last season, Gravenberch played 38 games across all competitions for the Reds, with 26 appearances coming in the Premier League, 14 of which were off the bench. This season, he has started all three games in a deep midfield role under Arne Slot, including the 3-0 win over Manchester United on September 1.
The midfielder will hope to take his impressive form from international duty back to Anfield, when Liverpool face Nottingham Forest on September 14.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot opens up on how he masterminded a 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford
It has been three wins out of three for Arne Slot, who took over the reins at Liverpool following Jurgen Klopp's decision to leave the club in the summer. The Dutch manager has been impressive so far, especially in their clash against United at Old Trafford, where he masterminded a 3-0 win.
The Reds were more clinical than their Mancunian counterparts, with Luis Diaz scoring a brace and Mohamed Salah finishing off the rout to take three points home. After the game, Arne Slot spoke about how he beat Manchester United, telling Sky Sports (via This is Anfield):
"Their style this season, maybe last season as well, their full-backs are nine out of 10 times really high and then Casemiro comes in between. So if you pick the ball and you can keep Luis Diaz and Mo Salah high, then you’re constantly in a one-vs-one situation."
“Then you need midfielders that can run, and we had three of them today that kept on running, and if they arrive in the duel then they are aggressive enough to win it. That was, I think, one of the main things why we could win today,” Slot added.
Arne Slot will hope the Reds can continue their remarkable run of form in their upcoming fixtures. They have gone without conceding a goal since the start of the season and will look to maintain that impressive streak.