Liverpool midfield duo shine in victory at Palace - Slot happy

Ryan Gravenberch once again showed his prowess in the defensive midfielder position.

Slot said: "He has certain characteristics to play in that position, and one of them is that he is really comfortable with the ball. Every time you play  him, he knows what to do with it so he is really good in his one-, two-touch passes. But he is also very comfortable in turning away from his man so we can create an overload. But apart from that, where is the main focus for everyone? Probably if you make highlights of him, you’re mainly going to show his offensive work. 

"He is tall, he can run, strong in the duels. The positive for him in being in this position is if he played a bit higher up the pitch, everybody is always talking about his goals and assists that he needs to do more. Now in this position, that’s not why we play him. But it’s also very helpful for him to play in front of Virgil (van Dijk) and Ibou (Konate), to play next to Macca (Alexis Mac Allister) because it’s a big help for him, those players, as well."

On Wataru Endo, he also said: "I think that’s one of the most positive things I see in this team, that even if a player comes in five to seven minutes – such a big player, captain of his country coming in five minutes before the end – I sometimes at certain clubs or certain other teams I see then a player coming in a bit like, ‘You only use me for five or seven minutes?’ But if you look at how Wata came in – how good he was on the ball but also the second balls he won – he had only in these seven minutes a very good impact. 

"I think that tells you a lot about the team cohesion but definitely also about the person – in this situation, Wata. That with only playing five minutes he gives that performance, that says a lot about him as a person but also a lot about the team cohesion."