Ryan Gravenberch was among Liverpool’s very best players last season, but he has arguably already taken a step up this year by adding goals to his game.With the help of our partners at FotMob, we looked at how Gravenberch is proving pivotal for Arne Slot‘s side.Widely considered as one of Liverpool’s top performers last season, Gravenberch was a key figure in the Reds lifting the Premier League title.However, for all his talent and nous, he didn’t actually score a goal despite making 49 appearances across all competitions as a holding midfielder.This year, that has changed. In just his first four Premier League matches, he has already scored twice while managing to cover as much ground in a defensive sense as last time around.Of course, scoring goals isn’t Gravenberch’s job – there are plenty of others who should take on that responsibility – but if your defensive midfielder can chip in with important goals, like we have seen Rodri do for Man City, it gives your attack another element of unpredictability.His strike against Newcastle may have taken a deflection, but it looked goal-bound even without the extra touch, and his run plus finish against Everton was a sign of a player flourishing with confidence.In the Merseyside derby, only Virgil van Dijk (10) made more passes into the final third than Gravenberch (8), according to FotMob.The Dutch midfielder also won more tackles (5) than anyone else on the pitch and achieved the joint-most amount of duels won for Liverpool (7), alongside Hugo Ekitike and Milos Kerkez.At the end of the game, he came away with FotMob’s player of the match title, being rated at 8.7 out of 10, and he was praised as “unbelievable” by his captain, Van Dijk.The skipper said: “Not just this season, he’s been playing like that from the moment last season started. He’s unbelievable. He’s very important to the way we play.“You see the amount of times I try to look for him. It benefits him, me and the team. He’s in incredible shape. He’s in the form of his life. He has to keep going. He’s still young.“The expectation level will always be right up there and that’s what he has to try to reach every three or four days. It’s a nice challenge.” Another figure to impress against Everton was Milos Kerkez.Since his arrival, the 21-year-old has sometimes looked rash in his defending, but his showing in the derby proved he is taking advice on board.Like Conor Bradley on the other side, Kerkez didn’t dive into challenges and instead pushed his man, often Iliman Ndiaye, onto his weaker foot.Against Everton, Kerkez made six headed clearances – that was the same number as Van Dijk – and he lost just three of his duels, half the amount he lost on his debut against Bournemouth.He was also a threat in attack, completing both his dribbles successfully and delivering three dangerous crosses into the box.While it is obvious Kerkez has plenty to develop in his game, he is still just 21 years old and has all the potential to be an excellent full-back in the long term.* FotMob is an essential app for every fan to keep up to date with their team or follow football worldwide, with endless stats and features that offer all you could ever want and never knew you needed!You can download the FotMob App here.