Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo have both had excellent starts to the season, but the two had a night to forget against Germany, as the Netherlands — sans the suspended Virgil van Dijk — were defeated 1-0 in the UEFA Nations League.
Stuttgart forward Jamie Leweling, making his German debut, scored the game’s only goal for Julian Nagelsmann’s side. Van Dijk was missing after being sent off against Hungary last week, and the Netherlands struggled without him.
Read Also:Barcelona Ready To Make Ambitious Move For Haaland
The Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad described the game as “one of the worst” for the Dutch in recent memory, even calling it “embarrassingly weak”. It went on to say that the Netherlands “looked at times like an amateur team on a Sunday morning, still sleepy from a wild night out before”.
Gravenberch was among those attacked for his performance, though not as brutally as Quinten Timber and Tijjani Reijnders. Gravenberch and Gakpo were replaced in the second half of the Munich match by Lutsharel Geertruida and Jeremie Frimpong, respectively.
Moreover, football Oranje was unimpressed with Gravenberch’s “sloppy performance” versus Germany. The Liverpool midfielder, it was claimed, could “barely string a pass together” for the Netherlands in a difficult performance. He received a 5/10 rating, whereas Gakpo received only 4.5.
Finally, Voetbal International rated Gravenberch and Gakpo the same, adding that the Netherlands as a whole were “literally hopeless” in the first half. Gravenberch only lost possession four times but was not heavily involved in the game. He will return to Merseyside this week determined to atone for his international setback when Liverpool face Chelsea make the weekend.
COMMENTS