Liverpool entertained Crystal Palace at Anfield earlier tonight as they looked to secure their first victory of this Premier League campaign. The Reds made a dominant start to the game but conceded the opening goal against the run of play when Wilfried Zaha scored a wonderful breakaway goal. The home team racked up the pressure but failed to net the equaliser as they went into the half-time interval 1-0 down on the scoreline.
The Merseyside outfit were equally dominant in the second half but found themselves at a numerical disadvantage after Darwin Nunez was sent off in the 57th minute. However, Luis Diaz stepped up and scored a wonderful solo goal to make it 1-1 on the night. The 10-men of Merseyside kept moving the ball well but ended up being held to a 1-1 draw at Anfield.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player performed during the clash against the Eagles.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian keeper couldn’t do much about Zaha’s clinical finish in the first half. However, he pulled off a couple of decent saves and kept a clean sheet in the second.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8/10
The English right-back played some majestic passes during the game and was a constant creator of chances. He was mostly solid at the back.
CB: Nathaniel Phillips – 5/10
Phillips looked comfortable on the ball but was caught out of position while trying to lay the off-side trap and got punished by Zaha. It was a learning experience for him.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch centre-back was a rock at the back as usual and distributed the ball really well from inside his half.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 6/10
He was full of effort but lacked quality on the ball. Robertson looked a bit off the pace and got replaced in the 62nd minute.
CM: Harvey Elliott – 7.5/10
Elliott caused a lot of problems for the Palace defenders and will be disappointed not to score tonight.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
He did a lot of the defensive dirty work but failed to read Eberechi Eze’s movement in the lead-up to Zaha’s goal.
CM: James Milner – 6.5/10
Milner was full of energy at the centre of the park and picked up an easy assist for Diaz’s wonder goal.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 7/10
Salah was excellent with his link-up play but failed to take any of his chances.
ST: Darwin Nunez – 3/10
The Uruguayan striker wasted two glorious opportunities to score in the first half. He let his teammates down after losing his head and getting sent off in the 57th minute. Nunez’s Anfield debut in red ended with red.
LW: Luis Diaz – 9/10
The Colombian winger was a threat in the first half. However, he stepped his game up even more immediately after Nunez’s dismissal and scored an excellent solo goal which ensured a point for his side.
Substitutes:
LB: Kostas Tsimikas – 6/10
He got himself into some promising areas but his crossing was poor.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 7/10
The Liverpool captain dropped deep and kept possession moving really well after coming off the bench.
CB: Joe Gomez – 6.5/10
He was solid when defending inside his half.
LW: Fabio Carvalho – 6/10
Carvalho went close to winning the game for Liverpool with his late strike that narrowly missed the target.