Liverpool's internal DM solution beats a new signing

Arne Slot unlocking big talent with subtle formation and role changes

Author

Kim McCauley
September 06, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

Hello friends, and thanks for reading our transfer grades pieces over the last week. If you missed any of them, or want to grab the link to share with a friend, here they are listed by team:

We’ll be back next week with transfer window grades for 16 of the biggest teams on the European continent, leading off with Real Madrid on Monday.

Today, I thought we’d mix it up a bit and talk about a player who’s currently shining in a new role: Ryan Gravenberch at Liverpool. —KM

It’s been a few days, so you might need a refresher on how Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford went. I’m guessing you’ll be skipping the video if you’re a United supporter. I understand.

Arguably the star of that game — and Liverpool’s season so far — was Ryan Gravenberch. He set up a couple of big chances by dribbling through Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro, and also tied for the team lead in tackles + interceptions with 9. Someone who continued to do that on a per-90 basis would be one of the most active ball-winners in the Premier League.

Gravenberch was certainly a hard worker in his debut season with the Reds, but not exactly an effective ball-winner. He wasn’t particularly effective or poor in any aspect of his job, and didn’t create much with his dribbling. He was kind of… just there. He existed.

But Arne Slot has cooked up a bit of a role change for Gravenberch, and it’s worked wonders. I’m not sure how much if it is out of necessity and how much of it was in the plans all along, but Gravenberch is now getting an extended look in a more defensive role that seems to suit him well.

I thought Liverpool had a fine transfer window, making several great sales and avoiding any huge mistakes. But I criticized them for not being able to find a suitable backup plan when Martin Zubimendi opted to stay at Real Sociedad, thinking their lack of a true defensive midfield option would really come back to bite them this season.

Maybe this will turn out to be a problem when Liverpool face the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, and top Champions League opponents. But for the other 85% of games, Slot seems to have worked out an excellent solution with a switch to a double pivot featuring Gravenberch next to Alexis MacAllister.

It’s not just the switch to a deeper-lying role that’s unlocked Gravenberch’s talent, but a move from playing as the left central midfielder to the right-sided member of Liverpool’s double pivot. He seems to have instantly struck up some great chemistry with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah, who are as intelligent as it gets when it comes to moving into space off the ball.

Playing close to Alexander-Arnold and Salah has not only made Gravenberch’s life easier as a passer, but it’s opened up more space for him to use his dribbling ability and carry the ball forward. The change to a 4-2-3-1 formation and Dominik Szoboszlai’s move to a true No. 10 role instead of playing as one of two dual No. 8s has probably helped with this as well.

With opponents concerned with pressing Alexander-Arnold, and denying passing lanes to Salah and Szoboszlai closer to the box, Gravenberch has a lot more space to carry forward into. If he gets by the central midfielder tracking him, forcing Salah or Szoboszlai’s marker into a difficult decision, the opposition defense becomes disorganized, and that’s where the magic happens.

Inevitably, there will be some growing pains, but Liverpool’s schedule sets up extremely favorably for Gravenberch and the coaching staff to work on the specifics of his role before another game of massive consequence pops up. The Reds face AC Milan in the Champions League on September 17, but the new format is pretty forgiving, and Milan are off to a bad start to their season. Besides that, Liverpool have a pretty easy run of games until late October, when they face Chelsea, RB Leipzig, and Arsenal in succession.

I was critical of Liverpool’s failure to sign a DM in the market, but credit to them for finding what looks to be an excellent internal solution.

We’re going to link to other people we like regularly, perhaps as a regular Friday thing. If you’ve read/watched/listened to something from a journalist or creator that you think the rest of our audience should know about, email it to me: [email protected].

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