Liverpool locked horns with Arsenal at the Wembley Stadium earlier today hoping to pick up their first silverware of the new campaign. The Reds made a sloppy start to the game and conceded an early goal when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang found the back of the net with a wonderful finish. Jurgen Klopp’s men dominated the ball but struggled to create too many clear-cut chances in the first 45 minutes.
The Merseyside giants kept pushing after the half-time break and finally managed to score the leveller when Takumi Minamino came off the bench to net his first goal for Liverpool in the 73rd minute. The match ended 1-1 with everything to play for in the penalty shootout. Arsenal ended up winning the game on penalties with a 5-4 scoreline to clinch their first trophy of the season.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the contest against the Gunners.
GK: Alisson Becker – 6/10
The Brazilian couldn’t do much about Aubameyang’s finish and failed to save any of Arsenal’s penalties in the shootout.
RB: Neco Williams – 4/10
The talented youngster struggled to create anything of note going forward and was given a tough time at the back by Aubameyang.
CB: Joe Gomez – 6.5/10
The English centre-back kept a good defensive shape and mopped up the danger quite well inside his half.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch centre-back controlled the game well from the back and got two great chances to score for the Reds.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 8/10
The Scottish full-back was by far Liverpool’s best player in the first 45. He delivered some telling crosses during the 90 minutes and didn’t deserve to end up on the losing team.
CM: James Milner – 6/10
The English midfielder fought for every loose possession of the ball and put in another energetic display at the centre of the park.
CM: Fabinho – 7/10
The Brazilian international got stuck with a few important tackles and did well to slot in at centre-back throughout the majority of the second half.
CM: Georginio Wijnaldum – 6.5/10
The Dutchman was full of energy and running but lacked the cutting edge in the final third.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 7/10
The Egyptian winger didn’t get too many opportunities to score but played a crucial role in the lead-up to Minamino’s equaliser. He did well to drop into midfield and orchestrated some decent openings in and around the Arsenal penalty box.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 7/10
Firmino linked up play well with his teammates but never looked like he had a goal in him.
LW: Sadio Mane – 5/10
The Senegalese speedster wasted a couple of glorious goal-scoring chances which ended up costing his team in the end.
Substitutes:
CM: Naby Keita – 7/10
He brought some energy and dynamism onto the pitch and made a few driving runs with the ball in the opposition half.
CAM: Takumi Minamino – 8/10
The Japanese international scored the all-important equaliser and even managed to convert his penalty in the shootout.
CM: Curtis Jones – 7/10
He kept his composure to score his penalty.
ST: Rhian Brewster – 5/10
His costly penalty miss ended up deciding the contest.
