'He's in the form of his life' - Liverpool skipper Van Dijk hails 'unbelievable' Gravenberch

Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk says "unbelievable" Ryan Gravenberch is "in the form of his life", but insisted his compatriot must not rest on his laurels. 

Gravenberch played a starring role as the Reds came out on top in the Merseyside derby on Saturday, courtesy of a 2-1 victory over Everton.

The midfielder opened the scoring with a stunning volley, before his sublime throughball set up Hugo Ekitike for the game-clinching second goal.

At 23 years and 127 days old, Gravenberch became the youngest Liverpool player to score and provide an assist in a Premier League Merseyside derby. 

He has also now scored twice in his four Premier League games for the Reds this season, having only scored once in 63 appearances in the competition in 2023-24 and 2024-25 combined.

After a difficult first campaign at Anfield, the former Bayern Munich midfielder was named the Premier League's Young Player of the Season last term, as Arne Slot's side cruised to the title.

And Van Dijk is full of praise for the strides his fellow Netherlands international has made.

"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," said Van Dijk.

"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.

"During his first season here, he hardly played either. It's a mix of everything: getting confidence, progressing and improving as a player, playing games at the highest level and knowing your role in the team.

"I'm very pleased for him because he puts in a lot of hard work to do what he is doing."