After Ryan Gravenberch's outstanding display for Liverpool in their victory over Everton, David Segar of Opta Analyst looks at the midfielder’s impressive start to the season.
A derby is always an ideal time for someone to step up and take centre stage.
Heading into Saturday’s Merseyside derby, most people would have expected that someone to be Mohamed Salah, Jack Grealish, Florian Wirtz or Alexander Isak.
The latter two started on the bench for Liverpool, and although Salah and Everton star Grealish certainly did plenty that will have pleased their respective clubs' fans, it was from the champions' midfield that the main character emerged.
Ryan Gravenberch played a pivotal role in Arne Slot’s men winning the Premier League title last season, earning himself the PFA Young Player of the Year award as well as a place in the PFA Team of the Year.
His absence through suspension in the opening-day rollercoaster win over AFC Bournemouth seemed to further highlight how important he is to the Reds, and his performances since then have only backed that up.
It was an especially impressive display by Gravenberch in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Everton. On a day when it would have been easy to wilt in the pressure cooker of a derby that kicked off less than 63 hours after the final whistle blew in their late UEFA Champions League win over Atletico Madrid, the Netherlands international ran the show.
Gravenberch scored a sublime goal to put Liverpool ahead at Anfield, playing a pass to Dominik Szoboszlai before racing towards the Everton penalty area, anticipating that Szoboszlai’s pass to Salah could give him a chance. It did just that as the Egyptian’s ball into the box allowed him the opportunity to scoop a delightful finish over Jordan Pickford and into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Watch Gravenberch's goal v Everton
Passes leading to Gravenberch's goal
Then he received a pass from Alexis Mac Allister on the right, opening his body up with his control before playing a perfectly weighted and aimed ball to Hugo Ekitike, who took a touch and finished superbly.
It made Gravenberch, at the age of 23 years and 127 days, the youngest player to both score and assist a goal for Liverpool in a Premier League Merseyside derby.
He put in a very good all-round performance in a tense game, with his five tackles at least three more than any other Liverpool player, while he won possession seven times; only Szoboszlai could match that for the hosts.
His head coach revealed after the game that he had been keen to bring him off after an hour, but Everton scoring just before then meant Slot didn’t want to lose his midfield general in a tight match.
"I was planning to take him off after 60 minutes but then we conceded a goal," Slot said.
"I think he has taken the spotlight mainly because of the attacking things he does, but I also see how much he runs off the ball, how many times he is there to help out Conor [Bradley] when he is in a two-v-one situation and the same for Dominik. The amount of sprints they make to help Conor, but Mo as well – but because of that we can leave Mo a bit more forward and get the best out of Mo also.
"He has done very well and now it’s maybe a bit more in the spotlight because of these goals and assists, but even if he didn’t have that he would have still played really well."
The enduring image of Gravenberch last season was of him receiving the ball on the turn, a simple swivel of the hips and transfer of balance from one foot to another seeing him befuddle pretty much every opponent going. Much like watching Lionel Messi cut inside onto his left foot, you know it’s coming, but for some reason you are always helpless to stop it.
Gravenberch used it to great effect on Saturday too, allowing him to carry the ball 15 times, at least three more than any of his team-mates. In fact, of players to play at least 270 minutes in the Premier League this season, only four have averaged more carries per 90 minutes than him (18.5).
He is showing even more confidence on the ball, very much on display in last weekend’s late win at Burnley. His flick of the ball over the head of Lyle Foster in the first half somehow seemed both entirely unnecessary and very much necessary at the same time.
Watch Gravenberch's highlights v Burnley
A 🔝 performance from @RGravenberch 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Lo2XsjLnsF
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 15, 2025
It wasn’t just showmanship, there was substance to his performance. Only Andy Robertson, with five, created more than his four chances at Turf Moor; no-one bar Virgil van Dijk (112) had more than his 110 touches; and no-one attempted more than his 40 passes in the final third, of which he completed 37, or 92.5 per cent.
That form carried on into Wednesday’s win against Atletico with an assist for Salah, also making the most passes in the final third (27) and winning seven of his 10 duels.
This could have something to do with his slight change in role this season. He is still a deep-lying midfielder, but Gravenberch seems to be getting a little more involved, averaging more touches (76.0, up from 69.9) and carries per 90 (18.5, up from 14.4, having averaged 14.3 in his debut season in England) in the Premier League.
We should bear in mind the sample size of only four Premier League matches in 2025/26 is relatively small, but Gravenberch is also having a lot more shots than last season. He averaged just 0.6 attempts per 90 in the league last season, which is up at 1.8 this campaign. In fact, he only recorded 20 shots in 37 games in 2024/25 and has already attempted seven in 2025/26. At this rate, he will have attempted more shots than last season after just 12 matches.
It’s paying off, too. Prior to this season, Gravenberch had only scored one goal in 63 Premier League appearances. He’s scored two in four in 2025/26 and was unlucky not to find the net at Burnley when his volley flicked off the back of a defender and flew marginally over the bar.
His finishes against Newcastle United and Everton were both opening strikes in games Liverpool won by a single goal; they were very different but equally impressive efforts. Gravenberch found the net at St James’ Park on Matchday 2 with a low shot from range that went in off the post.
He explained after the Everton win that his role has been altered slightly this season. The former Ajax and Bayern Munich man played as a No 6 in 2024/25, excelling in what was a bit of a change for him and the team.
Gravenberch told TNT Sport: "It’s the coach that gives me the confidence. This season we have more freedom in the midfield. Last season I was only on the [No] 6, like deep, deep. Now I can go more forward, which you saw today. My strength is also there. I’m happy with that and also happy with the goal."
Slot explained it further in his post-match press conference, saying: "I think this is the evolution of a team. You constantly try to do different things.
"You try to keep what’s really good but other teams try to adjust to us as well, so we need to constantly evolve. And apart from that, we have different players now than we had last season, so sometimes you also adjust a little bit the quality of the players you have now compared to the ones we had last season.
"I wouldn’t say [Gravenberch has] freedom but he has the moments that he can help the attack – but that has a lot to do with the way the other team presses. He has a bit more freedom."
You can see in a comparison of his open-play touches from last season to this season in the Premier League that he’s actually having more touches in a number of defensive areas, but that will likely be due to how much defending Liverpool have had to do in what have mostly been tight games. He has also, though, been seeing more of the ball in central areas, particularly on the edge of the opposition’s box. It is, again, a small sample size in 2025/26.
Gravenberch's goal against Everton also came from his only run in-behind this season. That could perhaps be something we see more of now he knows how profitable it can be.
Gravenberch’s assist for Ekitike came from one of his 11 line-breaking passes (LBPs), the most of any player in the match. It wasn’t quite as many as the 12 he recorded at Burnley the previous week, but it shows how much he’s taking responsibility for finding difference-making passes. He only made 11+ LBPs in four of his 37 league games last season.
Overall, Liverpool might not be motoring in terms of their performances, but they sit top of the Premier League with a five-point lead, and in Gravenberch, they certainly have one player who has started the season in exceptional form.
Bayern Munich were reportedly not happy that Liverpool pipped them to the signing of Wirtz in the summer. They should probably be more annoyed that the Reds prised Gravenberch away from them for just £35m two years ago.
At just 23 years old, the ceiling for the Dutchman really could be anywhere.