The first half was typical of the sort of display we’ve seen from Klopp’s Liverpool in recent weeks; dominant, imperious in attack, preferring to take the pressure off a shaky defence and goalkeeper by not allowing the opposition a foothold in the game.
Within 45 minutes it was 2 nil and could’ve been many more, in truth. By the final whistle, Simon Mignolet had struck again and handed Rafa’s new team a point that they in no way deserved.
The overall second half performance was sub-par but it should’ve been a cake-walk after starting it with a strong lead and even if the players had dropped off, it shouldn’t have cost them two goals.
But with a player like Mignolet between the sticks, there’s always the chance of a cock up and that’s something we’ll have to just live with while he remains the club’s number one.
Aside from him, the rest of the team were – mostly – fairly solid, bossing the game and looking fit and firing ahead of Villarreal on Thursday. Sadly, those dropped points could be the death knell to our hopes of a late run for a Champions League spot via the Premier League. Player ratings are below.
[ffc-gallery]Click to see our player ratings.[/ffc-gallery]