Liverpool faced off against Lincoln City at the LNER Stadium earlier tonight hoping to pick a win and progress into the fourth round of the EFL Cup. The Reds made a dominant start to the game and took the lead in the ninth minute courtesy of Xherdan Shaqiri’s excellent free-kick. Takumi Minamino doubled his team’s advantage just nine minutes later via a wonderfully placed effort. Curtis Jones scored two quick-fire goals to give Liverpool a commanding 4-0 lead at the half-time interval.
Minamino found the back of the net again in the 46th minute, but Lincoln got a goal back when Tayo Edun scored from close range. Marko Grujic got in on the goal-scoring act as well in the 65th minute. However, the home team scored their second goal just one minute later before things started to settle down for both clubs. Divock Origi put the icing on the cake for the Reds when he got his name on the scoresheet with a powerful strike in the 89th minute. The contest ended with the Merseyside outfit securing a dominant 7-2 win over the side from Lincolnshire.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the match against Lincoln City.
GK: Adrian – 7/10
The Spanish keeper hardly had anything to do in the first half. However, he made a flurry of good saves in the second 45 minutes but still ended up shipping in two goals tonight.
RB: Neco Williams – 6/10
The Welsh right-back was not troubled too much defensively and was a decent outlet for Liverpool down the right flank.
CB: Rhys Williams – 6/10
The young centre-back had a tough game at the back and was at fault in the lead-up to Edun’s goal in the second half.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 7/10
The Dutch defender cruised through the first half without being troubled at all at the back. He was subbed at half-time after a decent night’s work.
LB: Konstantinos Tsimikas – 7.5/10
The Greek full-back retained possession well in the opposition half and was a real headache for the Lincoln defenders. He also kept things solid inside his half in what turned out to be a memorable debut from him tonight.
CDM: Marko Grujic – 7/10
The Serbian midfield ace was a dominant presence at the centre of the park and got a well-deserved goal in the second half.
CM: Curtis Jones – 8.5/10
He bagged a quick-fire brace in the first 45 minutes to kill the game off. It was another productive performance from Jones tonight.
CM: Xherdan Shaqiri – 8/10
The Swiss international opened the goal-scoring with his brilliant free-kick and distributed the ball well while operating as a makeshift central midfielder.
CAM: Takumi Minamino – 9/10
The Japanese playmaker found the back of the net twice and also picked up a late assist when he set-up Origi’s goal. He deserves to be named the man of the match.
ST: Harvey Elliott – 7/10
The Liverpool whizkid was a constant menace for the opposition but failed to register a goal during the 90 minutes.
ST: Divock Origi – 8/10
The Belgian striker worked hard in running the channels and got his deserved goal in the latter stages of the game.
Substitutes:
CB: Fabinho – 6/10
The Brazilian made a couple of decent tackles but will be disappointed to have conceded two goals during his time on the pitch.
RW: Diogo Jota – 6/10
The Portuguese attacker came close to scoring but narrowly missed the target with his attempt.
CM: Naby Keita – 6/10
The Guinean midfielder brought some energy onto the field but hardly had any time to make an impact.
