Liverpool received a massive boost on Saturday afternoon when Jurgen Klopp’s Reds secured a 3-0 win against Huddersfield Town following a dismal 4-1 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur. They were hopeful of building a momentum by clinching another commanding win against their Wednesday night Champions League group stage opponents NK Maribor, the Slovenian champions, who suffered a disastrous 0-7 home defeat against the Merseysiders a couple of weeks ago. The Anfield encounter, however, resulted in another comfortable victory for the hosts who scripted a 3-0 win and reach closer to the knockout stages of the competition.
Below are the Liverpool FC players rated from their win against the Championship minnows.
Loris Karius: 7
Karius was highly untested tonight and did not even have to face a shot on target during the first-half. His first stop came after an hour mark and the German custodian did well to deny Milec’s long-range strike.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 8
The youngster spent most of his time in Liverpool attack down the right-hand flank and his crosses often created opportunities for the attackers to find the back of the net. The 19-year-old Englishman finally got his reward when his cross was calmly slotted home by Mohamed Salah early in the second-half.
Joel Matip: 7
Matip did not have much to offer defensively as Jasmin Mesanovic, the Maribor forward, was mostly concentrated on defending deep over posing attacking threats.
Ragnar Klavan: 7
Klavan started his second consecutive game following Dejan Lovren’s injury absence and the Estonian, like Matip, did not face enough defensive challenges due to Maribor’s deep defending strategy. Did well to contain Mesanovic when required. Had moments of frailty when the game opened up since Tavares’ introduction but it was well handled by the defender.
Alberto Moreno: 8.5
Moreno made a few smart tackles and impressed with his relentless runs down the left-hand flank. Combined well with the Reds attacking trio in order to create space up front with his runs and directness. His cross found Daniel Sturridge in closing minutes, who made no mistake to make it 3-0 for the Reds.
Emre Can: 7
The Germany international made some positive runs but lacked composure with his technique inside the box and failed to find the attackers with decisive through balls forward. He had an improved second half and his thumping strike found the Reds their much-needed insurance goal following a smart one-two with James Milner.
James Milner: 8
Milner worked hard, kept on switching his position and maintained his side’s attacking flow from the middle of the park. His set-pieces, however, were not impressive enough tonight and resulted in the disappointing outcome when his spot-kick was stopped by 39-year-old Maribor custodian. But he soon made a crucial contribution as his smart one-two move with Emre Can opened up space in Maribor box and the later made no mistake to double the lead with a thumping strike.
Georginio Wijnaldum: 6
Started the game brightly with lots of passes and movements in midfield. But the Dutchman was unlucky as he could not continue more than 15 minutes and was eventually replaced by skipper Jordan Henderson following a knock.
Mohamed Salah: 9
The Egyptian came to rescue once again when he finally broke the deadlock early in the second half and scored his 10th goal of the season for his new club after calmly slotting home using the pace of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s perfect cross. He, however, had a glorious opportunity to double the lead within minutes of his opener but failed to convert Alberto Moreno’s spectacular cross from close range. Was taken off late in the second-half and replaced by Daniel Sturridge.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7
Was handed a rare start. Worked hard, whipped in few decent crosses and showed a real appetite to justify his price-tag.
Roberto Firmino: 7
Started in a centre-forward role but worked hard to win possession and build up attacking threats. His first-half header was denied majestically by Handanovic. The Brazilian earned a spot-kick in the second half when he was pulled down inside the box by Rajcevic. James Milner took the penalty which, however, was majestically denied by the 39-year-old custodian. Was replaced by Marko Grujic late in the game.
Substitutes
Jordan Henderson: 6.5
The skipper had an early introduction in place of injured Wijnaldum. He did well to win and keep hold of possession in the middle of the park. Shouldn’t have allowed Maribor free space in deep midfield on a couple of occasions, else, the Englishman had a decent outing against the Slovenian outfit.
Daniel Sturridge: 7
Came in place of Mohamed Salah. Scored his first Champions League goal in seven years from Alberto Moreno’s cross.
Marko Grujic: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
