Former Arsenal forward Thierry Henry spotted a key detail in Liverpool’s tactics when analysing their 2-2 draw against Fulham.
Henry, 47, was joined by former Reds defender Jamie Carragher and presenter Dave Jones on Sky Sports’ MNF on Monday evening.
The Frenchman analysed Diogo Jota’s equaliser from Saturday’s game at Anfield and recognised a key detail that otherwise went under the radar in the build-up to the goal.
Although Jota deserved huge credit for his tidy control and finish past Bernd Leno, it was Ryan Gravenberch who Henry homed in on.
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At the time, Liverpool were trailing 2-1 and had one man less following Andrew Robertson’s first-half sending-off.
“You are playing against ten men, at that particular moment, you are losing 2-1, but you need to attack without being exposed,” Henry said on Sky Sports’ MNF.
“So, what he did is always give his team a numerical advantage.
“I will call [Ryan] Gravenberch the decoy player, by his positioning, they have to squeeze [Fulham’s midfielders].
“And those two are very dependent on what’s happening with him, so one [Gravenberch] frees four [other Liverpool players].
“Look at what’s happening in behind… you almost have five players behind that line apart from [Harvey] Elliott.
“You have three vs two…if the ball goes to [Jarell] Quansah or the ball goes to [Joe] Gomez.
"If you touch Darwin [Nunez], he will have the possibility to play Diogo Jota.
“Suddenly, you are playing with 11 men, and you have a two v one.”
“He [Gravenberch] gave his team a miracle advantage there [in attack] and at the back,” he added.
To summarise Henry's expert tactical analysis, the Dutch midfielder essentially played so deep that he split Fulham's midfield by diverting attention away from the attacking threat of Jota, Nunez and Mohamed Salah which did not allow Fulham to benefit from their one-man advantage at Anfield.
What Arne Slot said about Ryan Gravenberch
This is not the first time Gravenberch has been pivotal to Liverpool’s success so far this term.
Under Arne Slot, he has played in a deeper role than he did previously and has featured 21 times this term.
Slot was quick to praise his midfielder in his post-match press conference.
“Impressed, like everyone who was in the stadium or saw the game,” said Slot.
“Ryan [Gravenberch] did outstanding again today.
“Without the ball, he was mostly in our last line, had to play sometimes against a nine, against wingers who are really fast. And with the ball, he came into the midfield.
“An outstanding performance from him. But if we only highlight him, I don't think I give enough credit to all the other ones that played next to him and around him. I couldn't have asked for more.
"Dominated the game, more ball possession with 10 men, more chances created – everything what you want. Unfortunately for us, maybe the only chance they got with [us having] 10 men led to a goal – that sometimes happens as well.”
Topics: Liverpool, Fulham, Premier League, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher, Diogo Jota, Ryan Gravenberch
Luke Davies