Liverpool v Manchester City: Rating Our Players

THE dust of 3-0 drubbing last week at the hands of West Brom had barely settled yet and in just a span of 7 days Liverpool transformed itself into a world class team.

Liverpool’s first home game of the 2012/13 English Premier League finished in a 2-2 draw against reigning champions Manchester City – and what a game it was.

Liverpool exhibited some impressive build-up play throughout the encounter, however, last season’s syndrome persisted again — that of Liverpool dominating the game but failing to finish the job off with all three points.

Probably a fair result given what had unfolded throughout the match, but still an encounter that the Reds could easily have won.

Nevertheless, Liverpool have plenty of positives to take from this match with some great individual performances and a great transformation as an unit. Liverpool have now picked up their first point for the campaign and Brendan Rodgers should feel comfortable about his first Premier League game at Anfield. He avoided the dreaded 0-2 start that no Liverpool manager has had in a very long time and things looks encouraging for him, despite being held to a draw at home.

Here is a look at how each Liverpool player faired against the champions in the super Sunday clash.

Goalkeeper

Pepe Reina

Scoresheet says Pepe Reina conceded two goals, that however doesn’t tell the whole story. The first goal, scored by Yaya Toure, fell to the Ivorian’s feet after the ball ricocheted off Martin Kelly’s thigh. Reina really had no chance.

The second goal was a gift from Skrtel; he lost his composure and sent a short pass back to Reina who had no chance of reaching it. Reina did his best to contain Carlos Tevez in a one-on-one situation, but Tevez made no mistake.

Player Rating: 7/10

Defenders

Glen Johnson

Johnson started the match as a left-back, giving Kelly the chance to take over the right-back position, that however didn’t seem to effect the England international. He made some good runs forward and got back in time to cover at the back as well. He switched his position later in the second half but the results were the same. He had a great game overall.

Player Rating: 7.5/10

Sebastian Coates

The young Uruguayan had a big shoe to fill. Given a nod ahead of Jamie Carragher – which in my opinion, was a great move by Brendan Rodgers – to fill in for the suspended Daniel Agger. He looked composed for most of the match and rarely put a foot wrong all afternoon and had several key headers and interceptions.

He lunged at a few tackles — which led to Man City players easily getting by him — but covered well. Big match for the youngster and he did justice to the faith put on him by his manager.

Player Rating: 7/10

Martin Skrtel

Skrtel had the most dramatic day on Sunday. Scored the opening goal with a powerful header from Steven Gerrard’s corner and defended well; he didn’t let a lot by him and commanded the entire defensive line right through the match.

Then, with just about 10 minutes left on the clock, Skrtel came under a little pressure and committed Hara-kiri. His back pass to Reina landed at Tevez’s feet, who rounded Reina to find the back of the net and snatch a draw for City. The only mistake by Skrtel in the match and it proved costly for the Reds.

Player Rating: 6.5/10

Martin Kelly

Big match for the youngster and he did not disappoint. Martin Kelly performed admirably on the right flank as he made some useful runs forward and covered well to defend as well, much like Johnson on the left. Though guilty of few rash challenges, nothing proved costly for the Reds.

The only upsetting part in what otherwise had been a great afternoon for the youngster was that his last touch lead to City’s equalizer.

Player Rating: 7/10

Jose Enrique

The Spaniard came on for Martin Kelly in the 66th minute after Man City’s first goal. In the 24 minutes he was on the field, Enrique didn’t make tons of mistakes. He lost the ball a couple of times, but they were in advanced positions which didn’t amount to much City pressure.

Player Rating: 6/10
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Midfielders

Lucas

Huge blow for Liverpool as Lucas, who did really well to come back from his season-ending injury last November, limped off the field in just the fifth minute. So, not much to judge here.

Player Rating: N/A

Steven Gerrard

I always believed that Steven Gerrard never has two bad games in a row and he proved me right on Sunday. He looked much livelier in this game than last weekend. His passes were more accurate, and his possession of the ball was much more helpful toward the team’s cause. He was able to hold on to the ball more often than not and the forwards were able to feed off him.

Commanded the midfield along with Allen and delivered a great ball into the box from his corner kick, which led to Skrtel’s goal. Overall Stevie G had a good game.

Player Rating: 7.5/10

Joe Allen

The absolute man of the match for me, Joe Allen rarely put a foot wrong all afternoon and kept in pace for his unreal 94% pass success rating. Controlled the midfield with his captain and never looked afraid to have a go at the likes of Yaya Toure and Nigel de Jong, who are both much bigger than he is.

He also showed that not only he can pass the ball around but he can also lung into few tackles and win back possession for his team. A great home debut for the little Welshman.

Player Rating: 8/10

Jonjo Shelvey

Shelvey replaced Lucas on the fifth minute and had a really good, solid game. He impressed with his accurate passing and his fantastic holding play in the midfield.

He came really close to sealing the deal with a left-footed rocket from right outside the box that flew just over. Really encouraging from the youngster.

Player Rating: 7/10

Forwards

Fabio Borini

Second Premier League game for Borini and it seems he still needs a few more matches to adapt. Borini again looked nervous in the first half and missed a good chance off a great cross from Raheem Sterling.

Borini came back with a bit more confidence in the second half, but still made some questionable choices in the final third. Not a very good match for him, however a bit too early to predict anything.

Player Rating: 6/10

Luis Suarez

What do I say about Suarez? Always working tirelessly, weaving his magic around and mesmerizing the defence with his trickery. Not to forget making Every Red smile whenever he’s on the pitch.

Suarez did everything he could and finally the hard work paid off. With a little piece of his magic on the 66th minute, he scored from a sweet free kick to put Liverpool in the lead for the second time in the match.

Player Rating: 8/10

Raheem Sterling

I was nervous to see Sterling’s name in the starting XI; I never doubted his ability however I thought he still needed time. But I was pleasantly surprised to watch him have a fantastic game. Up against the huge Kolo Toure, Sterling had a great game and Toure had to resort to fouling the 17-year-old more than once.

A stellar performance from the youngster, a few more games like this and he could become a regular in the starting XI for Brendan Rodgers this season.

Player Rating: 8/10

Andy Carroll

Carroll’s introduction again came a bit too late. After his introduction, Liverpool had a focal point other than Suarez and it looked like it confused some of the Man City defenders. But it was all too late for him to make a real impact.

Player Rating: N/A

Thanks a lot for reading. Comments and suggestions are always welcomed. You can also find me on Twitter @LEONGUI7E
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