Gravenberch on Wolves Rematch: “Now They Have Confidence as Well”
At the start of 2025-26, the FA Cup would not have been the priority for Liverpool or most of the club’s fans. After all, the Reds had just won the Premier League and for most the assumption was that after a summer with a record £450M+ spend the goal would be defending that title and trying to win the Champions League.
While they’re still alive in Europe, with a Round of 16 tie against Galatasaray upcoming, things have very much not gone to plan in the league where they’ve slumped to sixth and are seen as outsiders in the race to finish in the Champions League places. Which leaves the question of what importance the FA Cup now holds for them.
A decent chance to win silverware in a season where more important silverware is, at best, highly unlikely. Or a distraction from what ultimately matters—not perhaps most in the moment but for the club’s long-term financial health. And that is re-qualifying for Europe’s premier cup competition by finishing, at minimum, top five.
“They are last in the league but I don’t think they deserve to be there because they have a really good team,” said midfielder Ryan Gravenberch when asked about Friday’s cup opponents, Wolves, who beat the Reds 2-1 on Tuesday as the league’s last-place outfit shocked the defending champions on the road at the Molineux.
“You saw that in the game, so I know it will be tough again because now they have confidence as well. But we have to be mentally strong and show them that we can get the result, and I think as a player you want to win every trophy possible. You want to win every game and that’s the mentality we have to go there and show.”
The problem perhaps is that we’re now into March and this Liverpool side have shown flashes of their quality numerous times this season—before inevitably crumbling in the next game or next half or even next ten minutes. These Reds are still a top half side and their opponents today are, well, the last-place side in the league.
Liverpool should win this meeting. Based on the underlying stats, they should have won Tuesday’s league meeting more often than not. At this point, though, the problem isn’t the next game—it’s the bigger picture. Nobody doubts this side has the quality to win. The question is if they have the capacity for consistency.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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