Curtis Jones may have starred in Liverpool’s 2-1 win at home to Chelsea but another player has also received a huge amount of praise.
Arne Slot’s side returned to the top of the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, edging out the Blues in an enthralling contest at Anfield.
Mohamed Salah put Liverpool 1-0 up with a first-half penalty, and Liverpool then thought they had another spot-kick, only for VAR to overturn the decision.
Chelsea were level early in the second half, with Nicolas Jackson finishing past Caoimhin Kelleher, but Jones won it with a close-range strike in the front of the Kop.
The 23-year-old was the standout player all afternoon, winning the penalty that Salah converted and also being fouled for the one that was overturned, as well as doing so much impressive off-the-ball work.
It wasn’t only Jones who caught the eye, however, with journalist Tom Little taking to X to heap praise on Ryan Gravenberch, saying:
“Gravenberch started the season on fire, and we were told ‘wait until old Trafford and Mainoo.’ Then he battered Mainoo at Old Trafford and we were told ‘wait until he plays a proper team.’ Then we played Chelsea and he was boss. What’s the argument now?”
Our thoughts on Gravenberch’s performance against Chelsea…
It goes without saying that Jones was Liverpool’s star man on the day, rightly receiving endless plaudits for his efforts after the game.
Gravenberch was once again impressive in his own right against Chelsea, however, building a good relationship with Jones in a double pivot and oozing class all afternoon.
He made six recoveries and three clearances on Sunday, according to FotMob, not to mention winning both of his aerial duels and enjoying an 87% pass completion rate.
Aged 22 years and 157 days, Ryan Gravenberch is the youngest midfielder to start each of Liverpool's first 8 games of a Premier League season since Steven Gerrard in 2002-03 (22y 121d). #LFC
— Michael Reid (@michael_reid11) October 20, 2024
As Little alludes to, there have been some waiting to see how Gravenberch would fare against strong opposition, following a relatively easy start to the season, but he has silenced those doubters emphatically.
Another big performance at Arsenal in the league this coming Sunday afternoon would further suggest that Liverpool have unearthed an absolute gem, having seen his stock drop while at Bayern Munich.