Liverpool faced off against West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns earlier today as they looked to pick up a win and maintain their top-four push in the Premier League. The Reds made a poor start to the game as they conceded the opening goal in the 15th minute courtesy of Hal Robson-Kanu’s goal. However, Mohamed Salah equalized for the Merseyside outfit in the 33rd minute with an excellent strike from just outside the box. Both sides went into the half-time interval with a 1-1 scoreline.
The Reds kept pushing in search of the winner but struggled to be clinical in the final third. In dramatic fashion, it was Alisson Becker who popped up with the winning goal in the dying embers of the game when he scored with a well-directed header from close range. The contest ended with the Merseysiders sealing a last-gasp 2-1 win on the road which takes them one step closer towards securing UEFA Champions League football for next season.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the clash against the Baggies.
GK: Alisson Becker – 10/10
The Brazilian keeper couldn’t do much about Robson-Kanu’s finish in the first half. He did make a couple of important saves and deserves to get a perfect 10 because of his dramatic last-minute winning goal for the Reds when he found the back of the net with an excellent header.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8.5/10
The English right-back delivered some eye-catching crosses throughout the game and picked a great assist for setting up Alisson’s injury-time match-winner. He was also solid at the back and made a crucial last-ditch clearance as well.
CB: Rhys Williams – 6/10
Williams looked a bit shaky on the defensive end of the field and was at fault for getting caught out in the lead-up to Robson-Kanu’s opening goal.
CB: Nathaniel Phillips – 7.5/10
The Liverpool centre-back won a lot of headers but got caught out of position a couple of times as well. Still, he deserves credit for showing grit in the face of adversity and restricting the Baggies from scoring more than once.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 6.5/10
The Scottish left-back made some good sprints from the left-wing but struggled to whip in a quality cross into the Baggies penalty box. He was a bit off the pace defensively but did a decent job nonetheless.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – 9/10
The Spanish midfielder ran the show from midfield as he set up most of Liverpool’s good plays in the final third. He grew stronger as the match progressed and completely dominated the midfield battle in the final quarter of the game.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian midfield ace struggled to offer enough protection for his teammates at the back. However, he did have a few shot attempts from long range and created a key chance during the game.
CM: Curtis Jones – 6/10
Jones saw a lot of the ball but couldn’t do much with it to harm the West Brom defenders. He got replaced in the second half.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 7.5/10
The Egyptian winger scored the all-important equalizer with a brilliant strike from outside the penalty box. He was a constant threat for the opposition defenders but squandered some inviting chances to let them off the hook.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7.5/10
Firmino was excellent when dropping deep and building plays for Liverpool. He was unfortunate to hit the crossbar in the first half but showed great hunger to keep pushing himself in the second half.
LW: Sadio Mane – 6.5/10
The Senegalese winger tried too hard to make things happen for the Reds and lacked the cutting edge in front of the West Brom goal. However, he has got an assist to show for his efforts after setting up Salah’s goal in the 33rd minute.
Substitutes:
CAM: Xherdan Shaqiri – 7/10
The Swiss international played some decent passes and created two promising opportunities for his teammates.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – N/A
He added some energy to the Liverpool midfield.
