You can never read too much into pre-season games, of course, but Arne Slot will have been delighted with what he saw in the opening Anfield match of his tenure. Four friendlies down this summer; four wins (if you exclude the training game with Preston North End that was held behind closed doors).
It has been 84 days since Jurgen Klopp was belting out Slot's name from the center circle. At that point, it hadn't actually been officially confirmed by Liverpool that the Dutchman would be taking over. By now, though, it has begun to seem more normal.
It helps, clearly, that there was an excellent squad for the 45-year-old former Feyenoord head coach to take over. But Liverpool — not least in a summer containing the European Championship and Copa America — has not had much time yet to get used to Slot's ways on the training ground.
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As is the case whenever there is a change in the dugout, there were always going to be winners and losers. Some, who were in the team regularly under Klopp, might not have welcomed the change. For others, there is now a clean slate.
And while Luis Diaz and Diogo Jota looked sharp against Sevilla and Alisson Becker and Virgil van Dijk were among those to instantly click back into gear in what was their first club appearance of the summer, it was Ryan Gravenberch who was the closest thing to a surprise starter in the stronger side.
It remains to be seen exactly who will feature against Las Palmas later today but it could easily have been a hint of sorts that Gravenberch was selected ahead of Curtis Jones at the base of the Liverpool midfield, alongside Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai .
The pursuit of Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi continues, of course, and he would be a player expected to slot into the team in the deepest-lying position, but Gravenberch impressed. Defensively, he was hardly tested at all — and that is a substantial caveat — but in possession, he looks to be perfectly suited to how Slot wants to play.
Liverpool is going to build up more through the thirds , taking more risks in its own defensive areas. Opponents are baited into breaking the press so that those nearest the ball can ping it around them and spring an attack. Gravenberch, a fellow Dutchman, is ideal for playing wall passes under pressure and progressing his side upfield.
Sevilla offered little in the way of attacking prowess, with Gravenberch's positioning and his aerial ability in the number six role untested. Against, say, Brentford in a couple of weeks, it would be considerably more of a concern to see him lining up there.
Against the right opponent, though, it could be his best way into the starting team. With competition for places strong in the Liverpool number eight positions and more of an opening further back, attempting to stake a claim there might make sense. If that is his best route to minutes in the immediate term — and it isn't the first time that has been seen this summer — it wasn't a bad audition.
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