Ryan Gravenberch impressively did something more than any Liverpool player vs Brentford yesterday

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Ryan Gravenberch’s time at Liverpool has been quite unfairly judged so far. The Dutchman has come under a lot of criticism. Criticism that was often unwarranted. Or didn’t really put his performances into context.

The reality is that while Gravenberch has plenty of experience in top flight football; he is still only 21-years-old and still very much learning his trade. That means he is not going to be perfect all the time. Especially when he is adjusting to a new system at Liverpool – a completely different system to what he had been accustomed to at Ajax and Bayern Munich.

But despite that, Gravenberch is quietly proving himself on the pitch. His emergency cameo against Brentford was yet another example of that.

Ryan Gravenberch’s performance against Brentford

Gravenberch came on for the injured Curtis Jones in the 33rd minute of the match. Immediately he settled into the action, and produced a strong performance.

He was excellent going forward, completing two of his three attempted dribbles. But he was also excellent, defensively winning two of his three attempted tackles.

The highlight statistic, though is the fact that Gravenberch won the most duels out of any of Liverpool’s players in the game. Which is all the more impressive considering he only entered the pitch after 33 minutes. In total the Dutchman won six duels as per Fotmob, more than anyone else wearing the purple kit of Liverpool yesterday.

At times, it feels like people are too quick to jump on the bandwagon with Gravenberch. He’s been really impressive scoring and registering assists already for Liverpool. Now, on top of that, it seems like he continues to work on his defensive game as well.

Clearly, he is determined to make his Liverpool career a successful one. At times though as with any young player, patience will need to be practised. But depending on the length of Jones’ injury, it does seem like Gravenberch could now get a huge opportunity to prove himself on the pitch in the coming weeks.

If he plays like he did against Brentford, there should be no complaints. That’s exactly what Klopp will want from the 21-year-old midfielder.