Arne Slot: Gravenberch ‘truly incredible’ against AC Milan | OneFootball

Following Liverpool’s 3-1 away victory over AC Milan in their Champions League opener at San Siro, manager Arne Slot was full of praise for Oranje midfielder Ryan Gravenberch. The former Feyenoord coach gushed about his gladiatorial midfield maestro following the UCL victory, in which compatriots Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo also shone.

Slot’s side travelled to Italy fresh off the back of a somewhat embarrassing 1-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield last weekend, and with the new boss having just turned 46, a solid display after a quick Christian Pulisic goal at the Giuseppe Meazza was the perfect birthday gift. Via Amazon Prime, he said:

“It was great to spend my birthday like this. We lost on Saturday and that was a blow. To be behind so early tonight… Then you wonder how your team is going to react.”

Clearly, the Reds reacted well, as goals from Ibrahima Konate and Van Dijk turned the game before the break, before Dominik Szoboszlai’s second-half strike compounded an excellent turnaround.

“If you are that good, if you can play football that well, then it is – I won’t call it a disgrace – unbelievable that you lose at home to Nottingham Forest. The boys reacted great. You see that we have more than eleven players. The boys who got their chance also did well.”

With an assist in this game, Cody Gakpo was back in the good books after little input from the bench on Saturday against Forest. Slot continued:

“I would have preferred to have Cody on Saturday, but he has played two games for the Dutch national team. I had to be careful. Today he played well, but I thought it was mainly a team effort.”

While Gakpo returned to his devastating best, he wasn’t the best Dutchman on the field. Van Dijk, of course, scored a vital goal – yet particular praise was heaped on Ryan Gravenberch. Voted Man of the Match, the former Ajax midfielder made six interceptions against Milan – the most by a Liverpool player in a Champions League match since Trent Alexander-Arnold vs Man City in April 2018 (also six). No player won possession back more times in the game than the Dutchman too (nine). Slot beamed:

“He was incredible today. He took the stage where so many Dutch midfielders have already excelled. Incredible compatriots have played here, now it was Ryan’s turn.”

Quotes courtesy of Voetbal International and Amazon Prime Coverage

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield