Ryan Gravenberch split the atom with this jaw-dropping 75-yard NFL pass
The 2024-25 season might only be three weeks old, but Ryan Gravenberch is playing with the single-minded purpose of an assassin looking to avenge the death of his beloved.
Gravenberch has been given a new lease of life under Arne Slot at Liverpool, starting all three matches in the number six role and blossoming into an elite operator.
This form is a huge difference to last term as he struggled to establish himself under Jurgen Klopp following his move from Bayern Munich. And the player himself believes that the confidence he receives from his new boss Slot has contributed to his eye-catching displays.
Speaking to ESPN Netherlands, Gravenberch said: “I just feel good in my skin, to be honest. But does that have a reason? Yeah, things are going well at the club. I’m just doing my thing, and it’s working out well now.
“He [Slot] gives me confidence now. He just lets me start in the lineup. It’s going pretty well. As a player, you obviously want to get minutes. For me, that confidence is part of it. With that confidence, I feel more comfortable, and with the minutes, it keeps getting better.
Gravenberch added: “He’s a good coach. He knows what he wants. He has a clear plan. Yeah, so far, we’re executing it really well. Clarity from the start is always nice for me.”
While some players treat the September international break with trepidation, consciously holding back for the resumption of the club season, Gravenberch has taken his club form into the Netherlands’ matches against Bosnia and Germany.
Facing the latter in Amsterdam, the 22-year-old received the ball deep in his own half with the German midfield jogging back to their sentry duty in the middle of the park.
Such formality was shown quickly to be pure folly; Gravenberch spotted the opportunity and screwballed a sensational long pass over their heads and directly into the path of Xavi Simons.
The pressure may have got to Simons here; even if he’d scored, there was no way his finish would’ve emulated the preceding pass in invention, skill and sheer ability to make your jaw drop.
Cowed by such facts, Simons’ screwed his shot straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen. But everybody was still breathless from Gravenberch’s audacity.
Gravenberch with a Pogba esque pass pic.twitter.com/WfwgAiZf2J
— Frank (@MALlSlNPARIS) September 10, 2024
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Former Netherlands star Rafael van der Vaart has heaped praise on Arne Slot for the impact he has had on Gravenberch.
“Ryan Gravenberch?,” Van der Vaart said on Dutch television. “We have got a fantastic midfielder for our country.
“Arne Slot brought him back to his highest level and his potential is fully coming out. The first 60 minutes he was by far the best player on the pitch.”
The 22-year-old’s renaissance at international level comes after some struggles with Dutch boss Ronald Koeman, who has been critical of him on more than one occasion.
Last year, Gravenberch dropped out of under-21 duty to focus on his fitness, infuriating Koeman who failed to give the Liverpool midfielder a single minute at Euro 2024.
Speaking last week, Koeman was similarly keen to put a lid on all of the praise Gravenberch had been receiving.
The former Everton and Southampton boss responded to one journalist’s glowing praise for the defensive midfielder by saying: “I am glad you added that last part. I have always seen the potential in him.
“But I believed he lacked focus, this is something that he had to improve and now it seems that he finally realises what is asked of him.”
While the season is still in its embryonic phase, with no guarantee how any player will hold up once the trickle of matches becomes a torrent, Gravenberch has already shown he’s a different proposition to last year.
And every Liverpool fan would’ve noted the influence of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the Dutchman’s defence-splitting pass against Germany.
It was just the latest moment for a player who has attacked the early stages of the 2024-25 campaign with gusto.
By Michael Lee