Arne Slot admits surprise at Ryan Gravenberch's form for Liverpool
Liverpool travelled to Selhurst Park on Saturday wth five wins from six in the Premier League, thanks in part to Arne Slot getting the best out of his Reds squad
by Tom Victor · The MirrorLiverpool manager Arne Slot has admitted he has been surprised by the ease with which Ryan Gravenberch has adapted to a deeper role this season.
Slot and the Reds' transfer team targeted a new number six over the summer, with efforts made to sign Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad. While they were working on that deal, though, Gravenberch was one of a number of players used in the role during pre-season.
After Zubimendi opted to stay in San Sebastian, Liverpool decided to stick with what they had. Federico Chiesa joined from Juventus late in the window, but a new defensive midfielder wasn't deemed necessary. That decision owes a lot to Gravenberch's adaptation to his new responsibilities. Slot interacted with his fellow Dutchman as an opponent when Gravenberch came through at Ajax, but the former Feyenoord manager spoke of his reaction to the 22-year-old's development this term.
"Before I started working with him I thought if he wants to play in the eight position he needs to be more involved in goals, but because of the pre-season we didn't have the players," Slot told TNT Sports. "We tried him in the six position and he is so comfortable on the ball - he surprised me."
Slot opted to shuffle the pack for Liverpool's trip to Crystal Palace on Saturday, but Gravenberch was one of those to keep his place in the starting line-up. The Dutch international was joined in a midfield three by Alexis Mac Allister and Curtis Jones, with Dominik Szoboszlai among those to miss out, while Cody Gakpo came into the front three.
"We have played a lot of games and Cody has done really well and Curtis, every time he comes in, did well," Slot added. "It is a good moment for Curtis to start, also because he's not going to go for international games, so it's good for him to have a game as well. He's done very well when he came in, and Dom [Szoboszlai] is putting so much effort in his pressing you wonder if he can do this every three days."
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Liverpool travelled to Selhurst Park sitting top of the Premier League table with 15 points from a possible 18. They have also won three games out of three across the Champions League and Carabao Cup, but Slot still thinks his team can improve.
"We do a lot of things well. If you don't do a lot of things well you can't win that many games, but if we want to stay where we are and compete with even tougher opponents we have to find another gear." Liverpool left it late to win the corresponding fixture last season, with Harvey Elliott scoring a stoppage-time winner. However, they lost the return game at Anfield in April as their title bid fell apart under Slot's predecessor Jurgen Klopp.
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