Ryan Gravenberch was superb on his full debut for Liverpool as the Reds earned a 3-1 victory over LASK in the Europa League on Thursday.
The Dutch international joined in the summer transfer window from Bayern Munich and made his first start for the club.
Jurgen Klopp was pleased with his effort and said the Dutchman had an “exceptional” game.
He was taken off with an injury and Klopp later provided an update on his situation. He was replaced by Mohamed Salah with 15 minutes left to play after a promising debut.
Klopp told TNT Sport that the Dutch midfielder was suffering from cramp. It seemed natural as he hasn’t played enough competitive games recently.
Klopp told LFCTV (via Liverpool Echo): “Ryan, played an exceptional game, on a difficult pitch, a great assist. In the first-half, he started so well and then got lost with the rest a little bit. In second-half when we had the counter-attack again and the last touch when he was pretty tired. If that goes to Lucho, I’m sure he can score from there so little things didn’t work out but in general, as long as you’re not in the best shape you always have to react again, again and again. We did it so that’s good.
“Very good, he told me he had cramp,” he added to TNT Sports. “That makes sense, it was the first start for a while I think. He did really well, for the long time he was the best player on the pitch but in the first-half frustration grew then you saw him getting lost as well. It’s normal, these things happen but stayed in the game as long as he could, really good moments. He set up a good goal for Lucho, for not knowing a lot about his teammates, it looked pretty tuned.”
The Reds maintained their winning run after having gone a goal behind to an early Florian Flecker strike.
Goals from Darwin Nunez, Luis Diz, and Salah earned a comfortable victory in the end as the Reds have now managed five wins in a row in all competitions.
The Dutchman made a strong impact as he provided an assist for Diaz’s goal and helped the club take a 2-1 lead away from home.
Liverpool focussed on bolstering their midfield in the summer transfer window and added Gravenberch to their ranks on the transfer deadline day.
The Ajax academy graduate recently rejected the chance to play for the Holland U-21 side during the international break. He worked on his fitness and made his first appearance in the comeback win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
With four wins and a draw in the Premier League, the Reds are flying high at the moment. They will be looking to maintain their impressive form when they take on West Ham on Sunday at Anfield.
