Liverpool went head to head with Manchester City at Anfield earlier today hoping to bounce back from their midweek defeat against Napoli in the UEFA Champions League. The Reds began the match brightly and carved out a few early chances going forward. However, City came back into the game and dominated possession without creating any real opportunities in the final third. Both teams fought hard but lacked quality as they went into half-time without having registered a shot at goal.
The second half was more of the same with the Reds dominant in patches but lacking the cutting edge going forward. The Citizens grew into the game and created some fantastic chances in the final quarter of the game. They were awarded a penalty which Riyad Mahrez failed to convert from the spot, much to the relief of the home supporters. The match ended honours even with both teams looking to fight another day.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the encounter versus the Citizens.
GK: Alisson Ramses Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian goalie hardly had anything to do in the first half. He kept his concentration well to pull off two great saves in the second half.
RB: Joe Gomez – 7/10
He grew into the game and was a wonderful outlet down the right flank for Liverpool in the second half.
CB: Dejan Lovren – 8.5/10
The Croatian defender bossed the game and dealt with the threat of the City attackers quite well. He capped off a fine display in his first league start for Liverpool this season.
CB: Virgil van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch centre-back gave away the penalty which could have cost his team. However, he got lucky as Mahrez missed from the spot. Other than that, he was solid defensively and commanded the Liverpool backline to secure another home clean sheet.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 9/10
The Scottish full-back was Klopp’s best player on the pitch. He was a constant outlet down the left wing and neutralised the threat of Mahrez defensively to earn another shut-out at Anfield.
CM: James Milner – 6/10
He worked hard in midfield but was subbed after suffering an injury in the first half.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 6/10
He failed to dominate the midfield but still distributed the ball competently at the centre of the park.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 7/10
The Dutch talent worked his socks off in midfield and got better as the match went on.
RM: Mohamed Salah – 6/10
The Egyptian showed some glimpses of his brilliance but lacked the finishing touch in front of goal.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 5/10
Not the best game from the Brazilian forward! He misplaced some passes, especially in the first half. Firmino was hardly a threat going forward which should concern Jurgen Klopp.
LM: Sadio Mané – 5.5/10
The Senegalese worked hard but was not effective down the left wing. He lacked composure in key areas and was unable to get behind the City backline with Kyle Walker tracking his runs.
Substitutes:
CM: Naby Keita – 6/10
He did the little things right but was not able to get himself into the game in the opposition half.
ST: Daniel Sturridge – 5/10
He got a difficult chance to score after coming on, but his header was tame and not enough to beat Ederson in the City goal.
