Ryan Gravenberch goal doesn’t happen without crucial Liverpool moment a few seconds earlier | OneFootball

Having not scored at all last season, Ryan Gravenberch netted his second goal of the current campaign to give Liverpool an early lead in the Merseyside derby this afternoon.

The early weeks of 2025/26 have been defined by the Reds’ incredible knack for winning matches late on (Peter Crouch dubbed it ‘inevitable’), but for the second game in a row, the Premier League champions didn’t take long to assume the lead.

Arne Slot’s side were 2-0 to the good inside six minutes against Atletico Madrid in midweek, and they needed just 11 to hit the front against Everton today.

Gakpo makes vital intervention before Gravenberch goal

Gravenberch latched into an exquisite curled pass from Mo Salah on the right flank and looped a first-time volley over Jordan Pickford, finishing with the aplomb of an elite striker rather than a defensive midfielder.

It was a majestic finish from the Dutchman, who’ll be thanking one of his compatriots at Anfield for a crucial moment just a few seconds earlier.

Cody Gakpo did brilliantly to track back and put in a perfectly timed challenge on Iliman Ndiaye, whose pleas for a free kick rightly fell on deaf ears, and that was the genesis for the move which led to Liverpool’s number 38 breaking the deadlock.

(Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Slot will have absolutely loved that from Gakpo!

The attention will rightly be focused on a sublime finish from Gravenberch, who later supplied a wonderful assist to set up Hugo Ekitike to double the lead, although Arne Slot will have been every bit as pleased with the Dutchman in the number 18 shirt for LFC.

Merseyside derbies are often attritional affairs which demand wholehearted effort from every player on the pitch, and the endeavour of the Netherlands forward to get back and dispossess Ndiaye will have delighted his boss.

It wasn’t just the desire to get back – it was also the timing of the challenge. Had that not been immaculate, Gakpo would almost certainly have picked up a yellow card which would’ve left him walking on eggshells from an early stage.

Don’t be surprised if, when he speaks to the media after the match, Slot references the vital tackle from the Reds winger which instigated the move from which Gravenberch scored!

You can view the opening goal from Gravenberch below, via @footballontnt on X: