Liverpool claimed their third Europa League victory of the season with an emphatic 5-1 win over Toulouse at Anfield on Thursday night. Jurgen Klopp opted to play several of his younger stars during the match, with new signings Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch getting on the scoresheet.
Gravenberch, in particular, caught the eye with a standout performance, and Klopp was full of praise for the 21-year-old Dutchman after the match.
“He’s a good player. I’m so happy for him that he’s started to really enjoy his football again,” Klopp told TNT Sports. “You can see his first touch is incredible. His acceleration with the ball. How strong he is in tight spaces.
“He’s not even halfway there from where he can be. But it’s really promising. The good thing is he has a lot of things to improve – so much space to improve and that’s good news. And because he is very young there is much more to come.”
Diogo Jota put Liverpool ahead inside the opening nine minutes with a fantastic strike, before Toulouse levelled through Thijs Dallinga. However, Endo restored the hosts’ lead with a headed goal from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross, and Darwin Nunez added a third before half-time.
Gravenberch got his name on the scoresheet after the break, before Mohamed Salah came off the bench to wrap up the victory with a late strike.
Klopp was delighted with the result and the performance of his young players.
“Very happy. How difficult the game could have been when you saw in some moments. But for the majority of the time we were in complete control. We scored wonderful goals and could have scored more,” he said.
“The right players scored I would say. Nobody got hurt too. So a perfect night. We could bring the kids in and show them how much we could trust them. So that’s all really good.”
