The Ivorian was over the moon with his goal which capped off a great day
GK/Defence
Simon Mignolet – Had so little to do, he probably could’ve put out a chair and watched from the comfort of his goal line. Saw a shot hit his upright late on though and spilled an earlier effort but was otherwise left to his own devices. Rating – 6
Nathaniel Clyne – One of Clyne’s best performances in a Red shirt. The England star has never been anything but solid at the back, though his forward play is always tentative. As the game wore on today though, he gained confidence and started looking like he might want a goal himself. That came, albeit courtesy of a Villa cock-up, late in the second half. Rating – 7.5
Kolo Toure – The Ivorian will go down as a cult hero at every club he’s played for. Well, apart from Arsenal – they like to hold grudges there. But at Liverpool, Kolo is universally loved, despite many not seeing him as a key player. He was comfortable in defence today though and his presence in the box provided a goal, as a deflected corner arrowed in off the top of his head for the team’s 6th of the day. A deserved goal for Kolo and he, and his team mates, seemed very pleased with it. Rating 7.5
Mamadou Sakho – On the one hand, you could say much better from Sakho. However, Villa offered so little that he was always going to be comfortable. That said, when Villa did come forward, he was composed and strong in the tackle. Need more of the same in Lovren and Skrtel’s absence. His contribution for the second was odd, in that he didn’t actually touch the ball, but the fact he jumped for it put off the Villa keeper and allowed the free-kick to sail straight in to the goal. Rating – 7
Alberto Moreno – In a day of attacking verve and over 60% of Liverpool possession, Moreno was one of the quieter attacking players. He put in some great crosses in the first half and was always in support but took a back seat in the presence of the likes of Sturridge, Firmino and Coutinho. Rating – 7
