Liverpool faced off against Red Bull Leipzig at Puskas Arena earlier tonight hoping to pick up a positive result in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League tie. The Reds made a bright start to the game but were toothless in the final third as they went into the half-time break with a goalless scoreline.
The Merseyside giants made a quick start to the second half and grabbed the lead in the 53rd minute after Mohamed Salah pounced on a defensive mistake by the German outfit. Sadio Mane doubled Liverpool’s advantage just five minutes later when he found the back of the net. The contest ended with Jurgen Klopp’s men coming away with a comfortable 2-0 victory away from Budapest.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the clash against Red Bull Leipzig.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7.5/10
The Brazilian keeper made a critical save in the second half and didn’t take any chances with his passing out from the back. A welcome return to form from him tonight.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8/10
The English full-back didn’t make any mistakes at the back and was quite creative with his passing throughout the 90 minutes.
CB: Ozan Kabak – 7/10
The Turkish centre-back didn’t let the occasion get to him and did what was asked of him on the defensive end of the field.
CB: Jordan Henderson – 8.5/10
The Liverpool captain was excellent with his positioning and read the danger quite well to keep the Leipzig attackers at bay.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7/10
Robertson was full of energy down the left flank and went close to scoring a great goal in the first half but his long-range shot narrowly missed the target.
CM: Curtis Jones – 8/10
Jones made some clever turns with the ball from midfield and picked up a good assist for setting up Mane’s goal in the 58th minute.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6.5/10
The Dutch midfield ace kept the ball moving quite well but lacked invention with his passing. However, he did enough work defensively to help his team keep a crucial clean sheet tonight.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – 7/10
The Spaniard was tidy with his tackling and spread the ball well in the opposition half. He ran out of gas and got replaced in the second half.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 8/10
The Egyptian winger was a real livewire in the first half but was not clinical enough in the final third. He kept his calm to score the opening goal for Liverpool early in the second half and worked hard to help Alexander-Arnold out at the back when needed.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7/10
The Brazilian striker missed a couple of half-chances to get his name on the scoresheet. However, he looked dangerous when linking up play with others around him in the final third.
LW: Sadio Mane – 7.5/10
Mane didn’t get too much joy in the first half and scored a good goal near the hour mark which will do his confidence a world of good.
Substitutes:
CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5/10
He gave away the ball far too often.
ST: Xherdan Shaqiri – 6/10
The Swiss international worked hard to fight for the loose ball from the front.
RW: Neco Williams – N/A
He came on for the final few minutes to help his teammates out at the back.
