After leaving Bayern Munich after just one year after a poor start at the club, Dutch midfielder Ryan Gravenberch joined Liverpool in the summer of 2023 and has awakened under Arne Slot this season to become one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League.
During the Jurgen Klopp era, he played as an inside half. He also started in last season’s Carabao Cup final.The team’s situation was not great and they had a lot of injuries in the big game, but they lifted the trophy thanks to the performance of their youngsters.
He started the match but injured his ankle and left the pitch after only 28 minutes. The 22-year-old midfielder looked back on the incident and said he was disappointed with himself, but also revealed that he was really happy for the dynamic youngsters and the team that won the game.
“I had a cut through my ankle [during the 2024 final]. I was in so much pain. I wanted to go further, but in the end the doc said no.”
“Of course [it was a disappointment]. Especially because it was my first game at Wembley as well [and] my first final. To go out after 28 minutes was really disappointing for myself.”
“I went in and after I put some ice on my ankle I went out to support the boys, I was really happy. I enjoyed that moment a lot. It was really nice.”
“I don’t know how many young players we played with in that game,”
“I think it was almost half of the team. Then you see what this team is capable of – with the young players you can achieve something and that’s really nice.”
“Obviously in training they give everything when they train with us. They are always there when we need them and also in the final against a good Chelsea side, they showed themselves. It’s really nice.”
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The Dutch midfielder was injured a lot last season and gave a strong impression of being available, but this season is different.
He is confirmed as an absolute starter at Wembley, and the team is looking to lift the Carabao Cup to get back on track after being eliminated from the Champions League.
The game at Newcastle United should be a hard-fought contest. He praised the South of England side for being really strong against a team from the south of England who are also in the top half of the Premier League table, and said it would definitely be a tough game.
“We know they have a really good team – and it will be a really tough game,”
“You saw it also in the away game against them [in the Premier League]. But we have to prepare well, and I think we have also a really strong team, so we will see.”
Liverpoolfc.com