Liverpool were having a frustrating week both at home and in Europe after a 5-0 thrashing against Manchester City followed by a 2-2 home draw against Sevilla in their midweek Champions League group stage encounter. The Reds had a glaring opportunity to get back to winning ways when they hosted Burnley at Anfield this afternoon.
But the outing proved to be another frustrating 90 minutes for the Reds which ended in a quite similar fashion to their clash against Sevilla. Despite creating numerous chances, Jurgen Klopp’s men only settled with a 1-1 draw against the Clarets who now have won against Chelsea and drawn against Spurs and Liverpool – all away from home.
Below are the Liverpool players rated from the fixture.
Simon Mignolet: 6.5
The Belgian custodian returned to the first team after losing his place to Loris Karius for the midweek Champions League fixture. Mignolet could have done little to stop Scott Arfield’s beautifully struck shot that earned the visitors a surprise lead. He was beaten by Ben Mee’s header but was lucky not to concede as Joel Matip cleared off the line. He, however, pulled off a crucial save to deny Ben Mee seconds later when he stopped his strike at the first post.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6
Worked hard, impressed with his overlap runs but the teenager looked sloppy at times while passing and also needs to improve his final delivery from the right-hand flank.
Joel Matip: 6
Struggled to contain Chris Wood as the New Zealander hitman created enough space for Arfield to hit the ball into the back of the net. Cleared off the line with his head when Mignolet was beaten by Ben Mee’s header from a Burnley corner.
Ragnar Klavan: 5.5
Pulled off a few blocks, tackles and interceptions but was sloppy while passing the ball and lacked defensive coordination which often made them look nervy from set-pieces.
Andrew Robertson: 6.5
Made some ambitious runs and linked up with his teammates to create space against Burnley’s ultra-defensive formation. Robertson impressed in his debut with his sublime crossing skills but was surprisingly below par this afternoon.
Emre Can: 6
Can was placed in a defensive midfield role that did not allow him to make enough forward runs like previous outings. He assisted Salah in Liverpool’s equalizer but never managed to create anything spectacular ever since.
James Milner: 6.5
Milner ran a lot but lacked enough creativity to break the stubborn Burnley defence. Came close to score from a volley but James Tarkowski pulled off a massive block and denied Liverpool from staging a comeback.
Philippe Coutinho: 6
The Brazilian was handed a start in midfield. He tried hard to create chances for the attackers and played some decent one-twos with the likes of Sturridge and Salah. But he was awful with his shooting and was taken off towards the end to be replaced by Dominic Solanke.
Mohamed Salah: 8
The Egyptian speed merchant was once again Liverpool’s best player of the afternoon as he equalizer with a great effort and also created a lot of chances inside Burnley box.
Roberto Firmino: 6
A quiet evening for the Brazilian as he was explored in a wide role and remained largely ineffective. Was taken off to be replaced by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Daniel Sturridge: 6
Sturridge tried hard to test the keeper with his shooting traits but failed to find out the back of the net.
Substitutes
Alex Oxlade Chamberlain: 5
Came on in place of Firmino but could not provide much so that Liverpool can grab a late winner.
Dominic Solanke: 6
Came extremely close to score a late winner but was unlucky as his effort struck the woodwork in closing minutes.
