93% pass success: James Pearce heaps praise on Liverpool gem who was ‘so good’ v Southampton

Mo Salah was the decisive figure in Liverpool’s win over Southampton today, although James Pearce was keen to single out one of his teammates for praise after the result at St Mary’s.

The Reds stretched their lead at the top of the Premier League to eight points but they were forced to do it the hard way, having been 2-1 behind with just 25 minutes remaining on the south coast.

The Egyptian netted the equaliser at that juncture as he applied the finishing touch from a sublime long-range pass from Ryan Gravenberch, whose overall performance won acclaim from fans and media alike.

Pearce praises Gravenberch

Posting on X after the rollercoaster clash at St Mary’s, Pearce highlighted the Dutch midfielder’s contribution to Liverpool’s 16th victory in 18 matches under Arne Slot.

The Athletic journalist tweeted: “Salah the match-winner but Gravenberch also deserves massive praise. So good again today.”

Salah the match-winner but Gravenberch also deserves massive praise. So good again today.

— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) November 24, 2024

Gravenberch was brilliant again for Liverpool

We’re 100% in agreement with Pearce here – Liverpool’s number 38 was indeed magnificent against Southampton, just as he has been all season.

The standout moment was obviously that wonderful assist for Salah, and in preserving his record of playing every Premier League minute in the current campaign, he delivered another tremendous performance.

As per Sofascore, the 22-year-old completed 74 of his 80 passes (93%) and both of his dribbles, won five of his seven duels (second-most of any Reds player), made two interceptions and executed three key passes. He had 93 touches of the ball in total this afternoon and lost possession only nine times, too.

It attests to Gravenberch’s renaissance this season that he’s already started as many Premier League matches this term as he did in the whole of 2023/24, and he’s just 42 minutes away from matching his top-flight game-time from his first campaign in England (WhoScored).

On the evidence of today’s performance, and those since August, he’ll continue to be one of the first names on Slot’s team sheet every single week.

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