Moving TARGET

OPPONENTS TARGETING RYAN'S MIDFIELD FLUENCY

- By IAN DOYLE

ARNE Slot believes Ryan Gravenberch is being targeted by opponents intent on stopping Liverpool's attacking game - as he admitted their recent revival has been hampered by the absence of Florian Wirtz.

Gravenberch was substituted at halftime for the first time in the Premier League under Slot after a poor performance in the 2-1 defeat at Wolves on Tuesday evening.

It followed a below-par display in the most recent previous away outing at Nottingham Forest, although the midfielder did provide an assist for Hugo Ekitike in the home 5-2 win over West Ham United last weekend.

Having been one of the Premier League players of the season in helping the Reds to a record-equalling 20th title last year, Gravenberch has found matters more testing this term in his defensive midfield role.

And Slot accepts the 23-year-old is having to adapt to rival teams deliberately making life difficult for him in the engine room.

"I think it’s clear to everyone that Ryan is really comfortable on the ball, and that he can drive the ball through the midfield," said the Reds boss.

"What could be an answer to that is making sure the distances are so small that he doesn’t have a lot of space in between the lines.