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- Liverpool beat Union SG 2-0
- Gravenberch got on the scoresheet
- Had to be subbed off later in the match
WHAT HAPPENED? The Reds registered a 2-0 win over the Belgian side at Anfield on Thursday with Gravenberch and Diogo Jota getting on the scoresheet at Anfield on Thursday evening. It was the first goal for the Dutch midfielder for his new club which saw him match the unique record of Liverpool's Champions League winner Milan Baros to have at least one goal contribution in each of his first three starts for Liverpool.
Although Klopp had to take Gravenberch off in the latter stages of the game, the German insisted that there were no injury concerns.
WHAT THEY SAID: “I think it’s really obvious how good he is,” Klopp told reporters. “What a talent he is, he is enjoying the situation, enjoying himself. That’s very important. Gets step-by-step all the confidence back, that is really cool to see. He is in the middle of the group, fits really well to the age group of the majority of the squad. That is good. It’s only positive.
"We thought he might be able to play 90. We wanted to give him 90 but then we saw he dropped a little bit and didn’t want to build any risk, so that’s why we brought on Dom (Dominik Szoboszlai) for a few minutes. Everything goes in the right direction, that’s really helpful.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Klopp made three changes at half-time which included Wataru Endo, Mohamed Salah and Darwin Nunez. There were concerns with Endo as the Japanese international was spotted with a black eye on the bench. Nonetheless, Klopp dismissed any injury fears and insisted that all three changes were tactical.
“Yeah, yeah. All three. All three sub were planned,” Klopp said. “If we could do it, that was the idea. If we could do it and nobody else has problems then these three boys would go off.”
IN A PHOTO:
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT? Gravenberch will now hope to get a Premier League start when Liverpool will face Brighton on Sunday at the Amex Stadium.