Ryan Gravenberch is not the answer to Liverpool’s MEGA problem | OneFootball

Arne Slot acknowledged Liverpool's biggest problem this week. Ryan Gravenberch simply isn't the answer.

Liverpool have had problems all season long, despite the incredible winning run to start the Premier League season. That's just the reality right now.

But the Reds have largely overcome it. That series of wins shows the enormous potential in this team - after all, they came while Liverpool were not playing well.

This team can be spectacular once all clicks together and there can't be much doubt that it eventually will. However, that relies on Arne Slot and co. finding the correct fit.

Right now, there's a clear problem in the team and it's one Arne Slot has voiced concerns about. Teams are not playing against Liverpool in the same way as last season.

One giant factor there is how the Reds are pushed far further back up the pitch and not allowed to get out. Carving through teams from defence is proving to be a massive problem, with the likes of Virgil van Dijk having a lot of the ball much deeper than he's used to.

That's now something Slot has tried to fix. But his immediate response is not the answer.

Liverpool's big fix

The most interesting tactical switch against Chelsea came in the second half as Slot took Ibrahima Konate off and moved Ryan Gravenberch to centre-back. Now, he did this at the time because the Frenchman was carrying an injury but he admitted after the match that he was going to do it anyway.

“It was also already a substitution I had in mind, maybe for a few minutes or a little bit later, because the right centre-back had a lot of ball possession and we needed to create from that position,” said Slot.

"We all know Ryan [Gravenberch] is quite good in that."

And he certainly is good at that. Getting Gravenberch on the ball at the back rather than Konate is a smart move as the Dutchman is far better at progressing the ball through a press.

But it comes at the cost of one, not having Gravenberch receiving the ball on the turn in midfielder and two, having a much weaker defender. In fact, the latter cost Liverpool as Chelsea’s winner was created in that right-centre-back space.

Gravenberch, then, is not the long-term answer there. He’s a short-term fix and one that’s far from perfect.

Worryingly, Slot’s decision to leave Joe Gomez on the bench suggests he isn’t seen as a fix, either. That leaves Liverpool with just one centre-back option trusted to move the ball against current opposition - Virgil van Dijk.

Something has to change. Either Liverpool continue to try Gravenberch at the back and remove him from midfield, or they try something completely different with their buildup.

We don’t see how Gravenberch can be a serious answer here. Not when he’s needed in midfield. Instead, Slot must find a slightly different way of playing - even just temporarily - before signing someone in the New Year.