‘Awful’… Steve Nicol says 21-year-old Liverpool player was truly terrible against Fulham

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Former Liverpool player Steve Nicol was not happy with what he saw from one player during last night’s win over Fulham.

The Reds started Wednesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first-leg in poor fashion. A goal behind after 19 minutes, Liverpool laboured through the opening half.

It took Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez off the bench to truly turn things around in a tough game for the Reds.

The two substitutes aside, not too many Liverpool players covered themselves in glory. With so many starters injured at the moment, opportunities were there to stake claims in the regular starting XI.

But speaking on ESPN FC after the game, Nicol said that Ryan Gravenberch in particular did little to suggest he should be playing more often.

“I thought quite frankly he was awful and did absolutely nothing to push Klopp into starting him any time soon,” said the pundit. “I don’t remember any significant difference when he’s on the field. I don’t remember any assists, certainly don’t remember him getting a goal. I don’t remember anything about him. Today he did what he’s being doing – not a lot.”

Gravenberch slammed for poor run

We hate to say it, but Nicol does indeed have a salient point here. Gravenberch hasn’t been good for a little while now.

Despite that, the Liverpool legend is wrong to dismiss his goal contributions. The 21-year-old has put up two goals and two assists since arriving from Bayern Munich in the summer.

Maybe those figures should be higher after 24 appearances, but it’s worth pointing out that Gravenberch has impacted the scoresheet.

Nevertheless, he’s obviously in a bit of a tricky moment. Where in the months immediately after his signing Ryan couldn’t stop smiling, he now seems a touch frustrated.

He noticeably gets himself down when a pass or a touch goes astray. That’s something that needs working on, for sure.

Last night was a tough one for the Dutchman, and he was again withdrawn early into the second-half. But it should also be noted that before his substitution, Gravenberch had improved markedly.

The midfielder came out for the second period looking like he meant business. Having danced through a couple of challenges on the edge of the box, he almost brought Liverpool level, flashing a decent effort just past the post.

Still just four months into his Reds career, patience should be exercised with Gravenberch. It’s easy to forget that he’s still only 21. Without a pre-season or regular rhythm in the team, there was always going to be a period of adaptation. He will come good, we just need to give him time.