One Liverpool player made sure he won’t be starting for a while after what he did vs Atletico Madrid
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Liverpool’s win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday has fans excited over the potential of the Reds under Andoni Iraola.Though it was not perfect, the 2-1 was a massively encouraging moment in Iraola’s early reign, with a number of big players turning up in excellent fashion at Anfield.But while the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz impressed, it was not a good night for everyone. Having come off the bench late on to help see the game out, Ryan Gravenberch underlined exactly why he has been surprisingly dropped to the bench for Liverpool so far this season.
The Reds played some brilliant football and are up and running in Europe Photo Credit: Getty Images/Jan Kruger- UEFA Ryan Gravenberch does not look like a starter anymoreHaving blossomed in a deeper-lying role, Gravenberch has become used to being a regular starter for Liverpool over the past two seasons.The Dutchman looked set to continue that role at the expense of Mac Allister in Iraola’s two-man midfield this term, but a poor display away at Newcastle on the opening day of the Premier League set the tone for a change in direction. Gravenberch has not started since.Against Atletico, two things happened which made it unlikely that the 24-year-old will find himself back in the XI for any truly meaningful matches any time soon.First, Mac Allister delivered an exceptional display – and scored a brilliant winning goal – and the Argentine now looks to be over whatever was plaguing his performances last season.READ MORE: Liverpool fans might have missed just how good Jeremy Jacquet was against Atletico MadridIraola is clearly a big fan of Mac Allister, and with Dominik Szoboszlai so important to Liverpool, that means there is no room for Gravenberch.Still, that doesn’t mean that the No.
But having delivered a fairly shambolic cameo on Wednesday, he missed another opportunity to do that.Gravenberch was poor vs AtleticoThough he has fallen out of favour for now, Gravenberch is still an important player for Liverpool and will get plenty of game time this season whether he is a nailed-on starter or not.As a result, the Reds could really do with him showing a little bit more than he did when coming on with 20 minutes to play against Atletico.Photo by Ernest Kolodziej/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty ImagesThe Netherlands international immediately slowed the game down, overplaying in dangerous areas as Atletico pressed on looking for an equaliser.While he did win both of his ground duels, Gravenberch gave the ball away seven times in his short time on the pitch, and as he showed against Newcastle when gifting the ball to the Magpies on two occasions for them to score, he is prone to some sloppy concessions.Mac Allister, meanwhile, looks safe, tidy and creative in possession, and though it is understandable that Gravenberch wants to remind the manager of what he can do when he comes on the pitch, he was a little bit too keen to try something special on Wednesday.Liverpool needed someone to keep the ball, win the tackles and tick the midfield over. Gravenberch seemed determined to do the opposite.He will certainly be in the team many more times this season, but all things being equal, the former Ajax man is not in Iraola’s best XI right now.