Ryan Gravenberch earns ULTIMATE tribute from Ange Postecoglu

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglu provided Ryan Gravenberch with the ultimate compliment as Liverpool faced Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup.

This was not a repeat of Liverpool thrashing Tottenham Hotspur as they did in the Premier League. Spurs came out very differently - and looked ready for the Reds.

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Arne Slot was visibly frustrated at times as Liverpool failed to find any rhythm against the hosts in what was one of their most difficult fixtures of the entire campaign. Few would have predicted that a couple of weeks ago.

But Liverpool just couldn't get going. They lacked control here and Spurs were magnificent at forcing their opponents into poor positions.

Really, it was a tactical masterclass from Ange Postecoglu, who knew exactly what he wanted from his team here. And it worked.

Central to that was Ryan Gravenberch as the Spurs boss paid him the ultimate compliment.

Ryan Gravenberch is the key

Liverpool moved Gravenberch into a different role this season, asking him to be the midfield pivot. Slot wants him the be the one who receives the ball from defenders and gets the team going.

It's his job to break the lines, beat the press, and move things forward. Only, he's become so good at it that teams know to stop him.

Spurs set out with a deliberate plan here, with Dejan Kulusevski essentially following Gravenberch around the pitch whenever Liverpool's defenders had the ball. The Reds couldn't pass to him at all, not unless someone else was able to get behind Spurs' press.

Plenty of players tried to do that but without Gravenberch, it was difficult. Slot attempted to counter this in the second half by having the midfielder drift wider to pull Kulusevski away from the middle.

It did work to an extent but obviously made it harder for Liverpool to push through the middle.

Overall, though, it's a testament to how good Gravenberch has been. Liverpool depend on him and if teams take him away from the game, everything breaks down.

And fixing that problem is Slot's next great challenge.

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