Liverpool took on Manchester United at Anfield earlier this evening looking to get a win and go top of the Premier League table. The Reds racked up the pressure early on and took the lead through Sadio Mane’s clinical finish in the 24th minute. However, the visitors managed to respond after Jesse Lingard capitalised on Alisson Becker’s mistake to put United level at half-time.
The Merseyside outfit remained patient and scored their second goal of the night when Xherdan Shaqiri came off the bench to score from close range. The Swiss winger made the points secure seven minutes later with another deflected strike to hand Liverpool a well-deserved 3-1 victory on the night.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the match against the Red Devils.
GK: Alisson Ramses Becker – 6/10
The Brazilian goalie had a near flawless evening in goal but made a huge error when he couldn’t keep hold of the ball which gave United a route back into the game. Other than that mistake, he did his job and was outstanding with his distribution.
RB: Nathaniel Clyne – 6/10
The English full-back was lacking sharpness but did cope with Marcus Rashford’s threat well to keep things tight at the back.
CB: Dejan Lovren – 8/10
The Croatian defender won a lot of headers and didn’t give Romelu Lukaku a sniff at goal.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch centre-back read the game well and looked a class act in the Liverpool backline. However, he could have done better in reacting quicker to Alisson’s error in the first half.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 8/10
The Scottish defensive ace covered a lot of ground and worked his socks off down the left flank. However, his delivery from the wide areas let him down.
CM: Naby Keita – 6.5/10
He made a few darting runs from midfield but lacked the cutting edge in the final third.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 7.5/10
The Dutch talent retained possession well in midfield but didn’t have his finishing boots on during the match.
CM: Fabinho – 9/10
The Brazilian had his best game in a Liverpool shirt. He made some crucial interceptions and created a few wonderful chances for his teammates. His perfectly-weighted ball in the first half opened up the goal for Sadio Mane who made no mistake from close range.
LW: Sadio Mane – 8.5/10
The Senegalese ran the channels tirelessly and took his chance well in the first half. He caused a lot of problems for the United defence, much to the delight of the home supporters.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 8/10
The Brazilian forward showed some neat touches in and around the opposition half but was unlucky not to have scored on the day.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 6/10
The Egyptian superstar held the ball up well and made some good runs to stretch the United defence. However, he never looked like scoring which was unusual for a player of his high standard.
Substitutes:
CAM: Xherdan Shaqiri – 10/10
The Swiss international completely changed the game after coming on for the final 20 minutes of the match. He got a bit lucky with both of his goals on the day, but his desire to create chances and link up play inside the opposition box was commendable. It was another memorable cameo from the former Stoke City star who has now become a Kop favourite at Anfield
CM: Jordan Henderson – 6/10
The Liverpool captain came on to provide some fresh legs in midfield.
