Darwin Núñez just denied one Liverpool talent his best moment in a red shirt so far, but manager Jürgen Klopp still says he’s been a ‘joy to watch’ in recent weeks.

After putting in a tremendous effort in Liverpool’s win over Union SG in the Europa League on Thursday night, Ryan Gravenberch was awarded the team’s official player of the game.

Late in the first half, Gravenberch scored his first goal for the Reds to cap off what was possibly his best performance to date since his $43 million (£34 million/€40 million) transfer from Bayern Munich on deadline day.

Liverpool.com’s James Findlater agreed with the fans’ assessment, giving Gravenberch a team-high eight out of 10 in our player ratings.

After putting in a tremendous effort in Liverpool’s win over Union SG in the Europa League on Thursday night, Ryan Gravenberch was awarded the team’s official player of the game.

Late in the first half, Gravenberch scored his first goal for the Reds to cap off what was possibly his best performance to date since his $43 million (£34 million/€40 million) transfer from Bayern Munich on deadline day.

Liverpool.com’s James Findlater agreed with the fans’ assessment, giving Gravenberch a team-high eight out of 10 in our player ratings.

The 21-year-old was closely followed by another young person, Jarell Quansah, who received a seven out of ten.

Quansah, making his full European debut for the Reds, was physically dominant in his duels and smart in his positioning and made a vital clearance after Alisson uncharacteristically flapped.

at a corner to help Liverpool preserve just its second clean sheet of the season, but one fine moment on the ball has also flown under the radar.

After receiving the ball inside his own penalty area, Quansah took a few touches and then fizzed it with precision through a gap in the Union SG structure to find Gravenberch.

Because of his open body shape, the Dutchman was able to shift it into Harvey Elliott, who carried it forward and then slipped a pass in behind for Mohamed Salah, supported in the center by Darwin Núñez. The Uruguayan should have completed a fine move with a tap-in but inexplicably missed the target.

Such is the nature of football that we only really celebrate moments like Quansah’s pass (and indeed Elliott’s fine work) when they lead to a goal, even though they have no control over the final outcome.

As such, the incisive ball from the center-back will largely be forgotten, though Jürgen Klopp will certainly remember it.

This was only one of a century of successful passes for Quansah, which sounds like an awful lot — because it is.

To put it in perspective, Virgil van Dijk hasn’t managed more than 78 in a game this season, and while that partly speaks to Liverpool’s dominance (it enjoyed 74 per cent possession here), it also highlights the confidence Quansah’s teammates in his on-ball abilities, hence his leading role in the team’s build-up.

He repaid that faith by completing 90.1 per cent of his passes, and six of his 10 long balls. Quansah advanced the ball further up the field through his distribution (797 yards in total) than any of his teammates, demonstrating that he was the man launching many of the attacks.