Liverpool captain Van Dijk talked about his teammate Gravenberch in an interview and expressed his happiness for the midfielder's outstanding performance. He also hoped that Gravenberch would continue to challenge himself to become better.

In the Merseyside derby on the 5th round of the Premier League earlier, Liverpool defeated Everton 2-1 after goals from Gravenberch and Ekitik. Gravenberch also assisted Ekitik to score in this game.

So far this season in the Premier League, Gravenberch has scored 2 goals and contributed 1 assist for Liverpool.

Liverpool captain Van Dijk said: "It's not just this season, Gravenberch has been playing so well since the beginning of last season. He is incredible and very important to the way we play. For me personally, everyone can see how many times I look for him to pass the ball, and it is good for him, me and the team."

"He's in fantastic form right now, in the best period of his career, and he has to keep it up. He's very young, but expectations will always be high, and he has to strive to reach that level every three or four days, which is a good challenge."

In addition, Van Dijk also said, "He didn't have many playing opportunities in his first season here. Now everything has changed, including the improvement in self-confidence, personal growth and progress, as well as the continuous accumulation of experience in the highest level of competition and the familiarity with his role in the team."

"I'm really happy for him because he worked so hard to perform like this."

On the other hand, Liverpool will host Southampton at home in the third round of the English League Cup, but coach Slaughter said the team's lineup will be rotated.