After Ryan Gravenberch had to be replaced during Liverpool’s victory over Union SG, Jurgen Klopp provided an injury update.
WHAT OCCURED? Gravenberch and Diogo Jota scored goals for the Reds in a 2-0 victory over the Belgian team on Thursday at Anfield. With his first goal for his new team, the Dutch midfielder tied Milan Baros’ record for having at least one goal contribution in each of his first three starts for Liverpool. Milan Baros was Liverpool’s Champions League winner.
Despite having to remove Gravenberch from the game in the closing moments, Klopp emphasised that there were no injuries to worry about.
WHAT THEY SAY: “I think it’s really obvious how good he is,” Klopp told reporters. “What a genius he is, enjoying himself and the situation. That is very significant. Regains all of the confidence piece by piece is absolutely amazing to watch. He is in the middle of the squad and suits the bulk of the squad’s age group fairly well. That’s great. It’s only advantageous.
“We speculated that he could play 90 minutes. We had intended to give him 90, but when we noticed that he had dipped a bit, we decided against taking any chances and instead brought in Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) for a short period of time. The fact that everything is going in the right direction is incredibly beneficial.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wataru Endo, Mohamed Salah, and Darwin Nunez were among the three substitutions made by Klopp at halftime. Endo raised questions after the Japanese international was seen sitting on the bench with a black eye. Despite this, Klopp emphasised that all three of the substitutions were tactical and allayed any concerns about injuries.
“Yes, indeed. each one. All three subs were prepared,” according to Klopp. “That was the thought, if we could pull it off. These three boys would explode if we could pull it off and no one else had issues.”
THEN WHAT? When Liverpool plays Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Sunday, Gravenberch will now be hoping to make his Premier League debut.