Liverpool played hosts to Napoli at Anfield earlier tonight hoping to seal qualification into the next round with a win in the UEFA Champions League. The Reds began the contest a bit sloppy, and the visitors took full advantage of their slow start when they managed to open the goal-scoring in the 21st minute via Dries Mertens’ goal. However, the Reds struggled to create too many clear-cut chances in the first half.
The Merseyside outfit were slightly better after the half-time break and finally managed to score the equaliser when Dejan Lovren found the back of the net with his header. The match finished with both teams sharing the spoils after playing out a 1-1 draw.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match against Napoli.
GK: Alisson Becker – 7/10
The Brazilian keeper did his job when called into action and passed the ball accurately from the back. However, he will once again be disappointed for not securing a clean sheet.
RB: Joe Gomez – 4/10
The English full-back was caught ball-watching at times and was too slow when defending inside his own half. Going forward, he was mostly a passenger in the Napoli half.
CB: Dejan Lovren – 8/10
The Croatia defensive ace put in a commanding display at the heart of the Liverpool defence. He managed to score the equaliser in the second half, which saved his team’s blushes.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch centre-back was aerially dominant, but he will be disheartened after failing to keep a shut-out again in front of the home supporters.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7/10
The Scottish full-back ran his socks off down the left flank and seemed to be the only one determined to get the win. He ran himself to the ground, which will make his manager proud.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 6.5/10
The Liverpool captain kept things ticking in midfield but lacked creativity with his ball-distribution during the game.
CM: Fabinho – 6/10
The Brazilian midfield suffered a knock and had to be substituted in the first half.
CM: James Milner – 6/10
The veteran midfielder saw a lot of the ball but couldn’t orchestrate anything meaningful in the final third.
RM: Mohamed Salah – 4/10
The Egyptian winger’s performance left a lot to be desired. He had a couple of bright moments in the first half but was mostly ineffective for the remainder of the contest.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7/10
The Brazilian forward managed to cook up some decent chances for his teammates. However, his impact in the game faded in the final 10 minutes, which is probably due to fatigue.
LM: Sadio Mane – 6/10
The Senegalese speedster made a few driving runs with the ball but lacked the cutting edge in the offensive end of the field.
Substitutes:
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 5/10
The Dutch midfielder kept the ball well but struggled to be inventive with his passes in the opposition half.
CM: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5/10
He tried to do too much but ended up doing very little.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – N/A
The English starlet did not have enough time to be a creative outlet on the right-wing. However, Alexander-Arnold did put in a couple of inviting crosses, but he delivered them with more hope than expectation.
