Gravenberch brilliance eases familiar Liverpool concerns

Football writer Alex Keble analyses the champions' familiar struggles but highlights Ryan Gravenberch's exceptional performance as key to victory.

The final whistle was met with the usual celebration at Anfield, but also, more acutely than in years gone by, a sigh of relief.

Liverpool got the job done and for now that is enough for Arne Slot and his team, especially in the Merseyside derby, but this was another 90 minutes that asked more questions than we might have expected of the champions.

The anxious faces, the stony silence, the sea of Liverpool supporters watching the game through their fingers: it’s becoming a common sight this season.

Granted, that on this occasion Liverpool did not need a late winner, nor did they come under substantial late pressure from the visitors. But 2-0 and cruising, for the fourth time this season Liverpool let the tide begin to turn against them.

Defensive frailties creep up again

It might seem unfair to focus on the defensive frailties of a side who have won all five of their Premier League matches this season, but the problems have been so frequent we simply have to shine a light on them again.

Liverpool were 2-0 up and cruising – for the fourth time this season – and it will worry Slot that his team played with so much anxiety in the second half, allowing a Jack Grealish-inspired Everton back in.

The issue is partly psychological; a vicious cycle in which the champions begin to feel jittery once they come under pressure at 2-0, as they did here by an Everton side who didn’t wake up until the second half.

Everton attempted 10 tackles and made three interceptions in the first half, compared with 16 tackles and seven interceptions in the second half - almost twice the combined amount.

David Moyes got his side fired up after a sluggish opening in which Liverpool’s established midfield of 2024/25 - Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, after Florian Wirtz started on the bench - carved open the midfield with ease.

Gravenberch's brilliance

Gravenberch, exceptional throughout, scored a brilliant first before all three Liverpool midfielders combined in a flowing move to make it 2-0. Gravenberch became the youngest Liverpool player to both score and assist a goal in a Premier League Merseyside derby.

Watch: Gravenberch's goal

That should have been that. Instead, once Everton upped the tempo Liverpool began to hesitate.

It will surprise nobody that the problems were in the full-back positions. Conor Bradley had a tough time against Grealish and he mistakenly stepped off to allow the Everton winger to cross from the left. The ball sailed over a desperate Milos Kerkez who, now prostrate, could do nothing about Idrissa Gueye’s finish.

Two full-back errors and the 2-0 lead was halved. We’ve seen that before.

But we shouldn’t be too negative. Slot has won five consecutive Premier League games for the very first time, and if Liverpool hadn’t squandered a 2-0 lead three times already this season (albeit winning all three games late on) the way Liverpool held on here, relatively comfortably, would not have drawn much attention.

Then again, perception is important. In stoppage time a deathly quiet Anfield watched Everton built momentum in the final third. Liverpool cannot keep making a habit of this.

Slot's verdict on where Liverpool can improve

“We managed the game really well, but we didn't manage some moments really well,” Slot told the club's website. “There is a lot to like, but we have to understand a moment can change momentum. This is what happened against Bournemouth, where we were 2-0 up, it was our game but a silly trick and we conceded [the] 2-1. The set-pieces against Newcastle [United], conceding just before half-time against Atletico Madrid when we also played so well in the first half.

“We have to understand a moment can change a game, no matter how well you play, no matter what you do, always fight for these moments. This is where we can improve a little bit, but we managed the game in general really well. I don't think they had a chance after they scored the 2-1, but it always feels a bit difficult if you're only 2-1 up.”

Anfield haunts Moyes once again

As for Everton, Moyes remains winless in all 21 of his Premier League matches at Anfield (six draws, 15 losses), the most games any manager has ever taken charge of at a ground in the competition without winning.

But with Grealish impressing again (another four chances created takes him to 13 for the season, the second most in the division) and the visitors pushing right to the death, today was another sign that Everton supporters can look forward to a considerably more stable season than last year.

“The first half was poor, we accept that, and we probably tactically didn't get it as right as we should have done,” Moyes admitted after the match on Everton's website. “We needed to get after them a bit more than we did do and we done it in the second half and it certainly showed.

"We missed the real clinical bit, which maybe they had when they got it. But we got back in the game, and deservedly so. I'm praising the players for their resilience and sticking at it. I thought they showed a bit more determination and commitment to try to show that in the second period."

Liverpool and Everton's next PL fixtures