Liverpool picked up three more points in the Champions League on Wednesday after beating RB Leipzig 1-0.
It was an awkward looking tie for the Reds against a team who are still unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season.
Liverpool came through it unscathed and with a clean sheet, though, making it three wins out of three in Europe this season.
Arne Slot’s 11 victories from his first 12 games at the club also represents the best start to a season in Liverpool history. It has been quite the start for the Dutchman.
Wednesday night in Leipzig was not the most eye-catching of those wins, mind you. Liverpool rode their luck at times and could easily have conceded on another day.
That they didn’t was partly down to some heroics from Caoimhin Kelleher in the Reds goal. But it was also because of yet more excellent defensive work done by the imperious Ryan Gravenberch.
Virgil van Dijk delighted with Ryan Gravenberch
Liverpool have to be a little careful of overplaying certain players during their current arduous run of games.
Liverpool’s fixtures do not get any easier from now until December and with a trip to Arsenal to come on Sunday, more than a few might have thought Slot would rest some key players in Leipzig.
Gravenberch was perhaps one of those who could possibly have benefitted from a break. The Dutchman has missed just one minute of football in the Premier League and Champions League so far this season.
Nevertheless, Slot obviously felt differently and played Gravenberch for the full 90 minutes once again.
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The 22-year-old has had better games this campaign, that is for sure. But Gravenberch was still a key reason for Liverpool winning this one.
One moment in the first-half really stood out in particular. With Xavi Simons having gotten away from Trent Alexander-Arnold down the Liverpool right, space had suddenly opened up in the box.
But in a flash, Gravenberch came across, extending a long leg to cut the ball out for a corner. It was crucial block from the midfielder and as seen in a video posted by X user @SamuelILFC, it was one which was celebrated wildly by Virgil van Dijk.
In the clip, Gravenberch can be seen getting up from his sliding block. Van Dijk comes across, roaring in delight and grabs his compatriot by the head with both hands. The skipper enjoyed that!
Ryan Gravenberch underlines his importance
It is now hard to imagine a Liverpool team sheet that does not have Ryan Gravenberch in it.
The former Bayern Munich man has become so key to the Reds in such a short space of time.
This little moment involving Van Dijk shows just how far Gravenberch has come from last season to this.
This time last year, there’s no chance you’d have seen him sliding in in that manner to intercept a counter-attack. Now, it feels like it’s par for the course.
Getting back to help out defensively is simply Gravenberch’s job – or one of them – in this Liverpool midfield. And judging by Virgil’s reaction, he certainly appreciates it.
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