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Ryan Gravenberch pulled off a feat unseen in the Premier League for 12 YEARS

Ryan Gravenberch pulled off a feat unseen in the Premier League for 12 YEARS

Alex Caple 30 Sep 2024, 21:25 Last modified: 24 Oct 2024

Ryan Gravenberch put in a stat line the Premier League hasn’t seen since 2012 in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Wolves. The midfielder is going from strength to strength.

Ryan Gravenberch is having an incredible season - and few will have seen that coming back in May. The Dutchman's debut campaign at Liverpool was hit and miss, with every fantastic performance followed by about a month of inconsistency and disappearances.

But Arne Slot appears to have nailed it. Managers have been struggling to get the best out of Gravenberch but he's suiting this no.6 role to a tee, controlling games and putting in statements.

The 22-year-old certainly did that against Wolves, as pointed out by Opta. His display was so good, in fact, that the Premier League hasn't seen the likes of it since 2012.

Gravenberch won 100% of his duels against Wolves, having contested more than five. He won 100% of his tackles with at least three attempts and made over 50 passes with an accuracy above 90%. The last player to at least match that stat line was Sandro for Tottenham Hotspur against Blackburn Rovers over a decade ago.

2012 - Yesterday, Ryan Gravenberch was the first Premier League midfielder to contest more than 5 duels in a match with 100% success (8), make 3+ tackles with 100% success (3), and make 50+ passes at 90%+ accuracy (57/62) since Sandro for Spurs v Blackburn in April 2012. Elite. pic.twitter.com/0WzFD13stH
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 29, 2024

Ryan Gravenberch shines again

Okay, so it's a fairly specific stat line but it's also one that's been coming. Gravenberch is in that team to win duels, pass the ball with composure and make some driving runs through midfield.

He's doing all of that. It's rare that you get the mix of involvement on the ball, composure on the ball and ability to win the ball back. But Gravenberch has been flirting with this stat line all season, usually only missing out by a tackle or one or two percentage points in his passing.

And if he's able to do this now at 22 and just a couple of months into the 'no.6 experiment', what's he going to be capable of down the line? Gravenberch might be the most exciting player at Liverpool right now and the decision to drop £35m on him last summer now looks like absolute genius.

What a talent.