'To be completely honest': Arne Slot admits he's been 'surprised' by one Liverpool player after beating Wolves
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Liverpool were poor against Wolves but managed to get over the line to claim three precious Premier League points.
The Reds had looked good in the lead-up to facing the division’s bottom side.
However, that form deserted them during a dour affair at Molineux. The 2-1 win puts Liverpool to the top of the Premier League but they won’t stay there long if they do not improve.
Nevertheless, a win is a win. And after Man City failed to do the business at Newcastle earlier in the day, the Reds will be happy as they head back to Merseyside.
No one will be more delighted than Arne Slot, who has become the first manager in Liverpool history to win his first three Premier League games of a season.
And speaking after the game, Slot still managed to find some positives despite the rusty looking display.
Arne Slot admits to Ryan Gravenberch surprise
There were not many players who were on their game for Liverpool on Saturday. However, there were still one or two bright spots.
Ibrahima Konate felt he deserved man of the match after a commanding display and a big goal, but the Frenchman was not awarded the official gong.
Instead, Gary Neville named Ryan Gravenberch as the best player after another composed performance from the Dutchman.
Gravenberch has been a revelation in a new role so far this season and asked about the 22-year-old by Sky Sports (28/09/24 7.54pm), Slot admitted that even he had been taken aback by Gravenberch’s quality.
READ MORE: Gary Neville left in disbelief over what Ibrahima Konate did against Wolves
“He is just very comfortable on the ball,” raved the 46-year-old. “And with him and Mac Allister, that helps the team if you want to have a possession-based style of play, if you want to have the ball and kept it as long as you can, then it always helps if you have two players that are so comfortable on the ball in the holding midfielder position.
“And the two of them can run as well,” he added. “So I think if you only look at the things Ryan does with the ball, we don't do enough justice to his game.
“He is doing a really good job without the ball as well. To be completely honest, that surprised me even a bit because I know him from the Dutch league.”
Ryan Gravenberch cements his place
Gravenberch was not quite as eye-catching against Wolves as we’ve become used to seeing him this season.
Despite that, the Dutchman still did well enough and was comfortably the best of the midfield three at Molineux.
Alexis Mac Allister was off his game, so too was Dominik Szoboszlai, who missed a sitter with score still level at 0-0.
With his midfield partners off colour, Gravenberch had to dig in and be the man to help pull Liverpool out of their slump. Thankfully, he did it.
As the former Ajax man continues to go from strength to strength, Slot won’t be the only one a little surprised by what he’s seeing.
