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Match Reaction: Liverpool Player Ratings

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PROP140420-011-norwich-liverpool-798x840After the nervy final 20 minutes against Norwich City on Sunday, Liverpool emerged as hard-fought 3:2 victors over the relegation-threatened side. After an exact replica of the previous weekend’s result, it was hard not to wonder whether the players had taken Gerrard’s rallying cry a little bit too literally!

Some great performances from Reds players were peppered in amongst some poor ones but such is Liverpool’s momentum at the moment, that they appear to be able to just pull out that last bit of something special to see out a game, and that is what will be needed to beat Chelsea, Palace and Newcastle to win the Premier League title.

See our player ratings below:

Simon Mignolet – 4: The Reds ‘keeper endured another poor day between the sticks and probably his worst performance to date. It is indeed worrying that the Belgian’s form appears to be hitting free-fall at a crucial stage and there is no doubt Mourinho and Pulis will target the ‘keeper at set-pieces in the coming weekends. Mignolet was at fault for both goals and his nervousness and indecisiveness are causing panic amongst the players in front of him.

Jon Flanagan – 6: A solid performance by the youngster with frequent lapses in concentration but his current form belies his age and it is understandable that he will occasionally have off days at such a tender age. However, on Sunday he rarely put a foot wrong and was quick enough to cover up any mistakes made.

Mamadou Sakho – 6: Not the most convincing performance by Sakho. He has all the hallmarks of a top defender but I’ve yet to be convinced by him in possession, despite what’s been said already. Physically, he is second only to Skrtel as a Liverpool player but he often worries with the ball at his feet and often left his team-mates in uncomfortable positions (as did Mignolet) against lowly opposition fighting for their Premier League lives.

Martin Skrtel – 8: The ‘colossus’ – as his manager called him mid-week – was at his commanding best again against Norwich, claiming MoTM from many, despite Sterling’s incredible performance at the other end. When a side concedes 2 away to a side likely to be relegated, it’s hard to praise any of the back four but Skrtel often seems to be the only cool head at times and if he wasn’t there Liverpool’s ‘goals against’ would be looking much more unhealthy this season.

Glen Johnson – 5: After looking back to his best in recent weeks Johnson’s display on Sunday was back to his worst: concentration lapses, needlessly squandering possession and far too easy to bypass. Will be one of a number of players who’s futures should be reconsidered in the summer but until that time he needs to get his act together big-time, and realise that Liverpool aren’t just playing out three meaningless games.

Steven Gerrard – 7: A largely understated performance by Gerrard, in the sense that he didn’t do much wrong and it may be good with the Chelsea game in mind that his wasn’t the all-action performance that we’ve seen in recent weeks.

Joe Allen – 8: Many say Jordan Henderson was missed on Sunday, and it’s hard to disagree, but Allen was more than a worthy stand-in. Like Jordan Henderson, his performance was one of doing the dirty work, endless energy and barely putting a pass to the opposition. Will be needed against Chelsea next weekend.

Lucas Leiva – 7: Like Allen and Gerrard, his display was rather unstated, doing a lot of the unseen work in midfield. Had a superb chance to score late on and a lot of the criticism of his display appears to be based on that miss. In Henderson’s absence he, too, will be crucial against Chelsea and Palace in coming weeks as both opposition managers are likely to place great emphasis on 90 minutes of attrition to and we’ll need all of our midfield battlers available.

Philippe Coutinho – 6: Not the Brazilian’s best performance but he worked his socks off and showed the other side to his game. If Sturridge is fit next weekend, he may be unlucky to miss out, but Mourinho will be likely to have his side try to kick the talented little Brazilian out of the game.

Raheem Sterling – 9: Another match-winning performance from the youngster who appears to have earned his place in the starting 11 for England for the Brazil World Cup, nevermind the squad. Rodger’s will no doubt be heckled by the press for his claims that Sterling is the best young player in Europe but on current form he isn’t far off.

Luis Suarez – 8: It says so much about Suarez that he can have a relatively quiet day and still be one of the best players on the pitch. With his goal-scoring record being what it is against Norwich you could see the fear in the movement of the opposition players every time Suarez ran at them so it was only inevitable that he would score. With 3 games left, he is right on track to even break the goal-scoring record for a 42 game Premier League season and a couple against Chelsea next week would be a great start.

Subs:

Daniel Agger – 7: I was no doubt one of many concerned with what bringing on another centre back was signifying but Agger’s presence at the back – providing an extra body – allowed Liverpool to be much tighter in the last ten minutes to see out the 3:2 victory.

Victor Moses – 6: Brought on for his pace on the counter but, in truth, again showed little going forward. Will be a shame to see him pick up a winners medal – if we win – when Borini has done much more to help Liverpool this season than the on-loan winger.

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I'm a 32 year old Liverpool fan, living in the heart of the City Centre. I've supported the club since the day I was born and have been writing articles for L4L for over 3 years, writing close over 350 articles in that time. My favorite player of the past generation is Sami Hyypia.

I am the current editor for L4L, with my day job being in R&D for the NHS.

1 comment

  • Gabriel Darshan says:

    Good ratings David, I agree with all of your ratings, although perhaps I would have given Lucas a 6.

    I think Mignolet is a good shot stopper but indecisive and nervous. People talk about his penalty save in the first game of the season, but he was very poor and nervous in that game as well. When he comes for the ball he needs to just take out everyone in front of him, he’s too soft in his approach and it leads to further indecisiveness. He also isn’t vocal enough. I hope because he’s young he improves. I didn’t want Pepe to leave, but i think he’s burnt his bridges with Rodgers after his media interviews so I doubt he’ll return to the first team. Shame.

    I think Allen was excellent as well, so dynamic, used the ball well, his pressing was quick and he covered a huge amount of miles. Prior to the game I would have played Lucas against Chelsea due to his added height and big game experience (assuming Sturridge returns to the starting line up), but on this performance I think Allen should start alongside Coutinho and Gerrard in midfield. Lucas played well, but his lack of pace told at times and he really tired late in the game and gave away silly fouls. I’m not sure why Allen was taken off in the game.

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