For the second time this season in the Champions League, Liverpool scored seven goals in a game, against two different oppositions, as they qualified into the knockout stage of the competition for the first time in more than eight years. Mohamed Salah earned Liverpool an early penalty, which was neatly tucked away by Philippe Coutinho, who was sporting the captain’s armband on the night.
He soon added a second, which was not too long before a third from Roberto Firmino, as the Reds raced into a 3-0 lead in under 20 minutes. They were relentless in the second half as well, as Coutinho completed his hat-trick, to add to Sadio Mane’s brace. Salah joined the party scoring the 7th as Liverpool cruised into the next stage of the competition. Here are the player ratings for the Reds in this game:
Loris Karius (6):
Had one moment of madness, that could have cost his side but put in another confident display under the bar.
Joe Gomez (7):
Alert to danger and ready to take care of it, Gomez put in a solid shift, starting as a right back and ending the game as a centre-half.
Dejan Lovren (6):
Stuck to his task well at the back as he negated the threat from Adriano and Ze Luis, helping his side to a clean sheet.
Ragnar Klavan (7):
Confident with his passing and pro-active with his defending, Klavan was extremely effective at the back on a comfortable night for the hosts.
Alberto Moreno (7):
Was ready to add numbers to the attack on every occasion and won the ball back urgently on a couple of occasions before picking up an unfortunate injury that saw him subbed off just before halftime.
Emre Can (6):
Picked up an early yellow card and had to play safe all game and that he did, keeping the visitors honest in the midfield, all night.
Georginio Wijnaldum (6):
Looks at home in the midfield and will be relived with his performances after a nervy night at CB at the Amex Stadium.
Philippe Coutinho (10):
Not easy to earn a 10 but Coutinho not only scored a hat-trick and but ran the game in the middle of the park, beating defenders for fun and creating chances after chance, breaking Spartak’s defence far too easily. A match-winning performance from the skipper of the side.
Mohamed Salah (9):
Was involved in almost every goal, and deservedly got himself on the scoresheet late in the game.
Sadio Mane (9):
Scored a second-half brace and created a number of chances in the first half in a brilliant display of pace and lethal finishing from the winger.
Roberto Firmino (9):
The Brazilian is growing more and more confident in front of goal, as was evident with his exemplary finish to take Liverpool 3-0 up in the first half. Also picked up the assist for Coutinho’s goal and was one of the best players on the field.
Substitutes:
James Milner (8):
Came on for Moreno late in the first half and had a productive second half, where he picked up three assists, and also saw out any, rare danger from the visitors.
Trent Alexandre-Arnold (7):
Slotted in at right-back with relative ease and kept the flow going, without any fuss.
Daniel Sturridge (7):
Came on with 20 minutes to play and created more than one chance, picking up an assist for his troubles in a rare outing for the Englishman.
