OPINION
Liverpool travelled to France on Wednesday to take on Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League looking to make their progress from the group stages of the tournament much more secure.
However that turned out to be an impossible task for the Reds as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat courtesy of PSG with the French giants looking determined to make life difficult for their opponents.
PSG full-back Juan Bernat put his side ahead in 13 minutes after the Ligue 1 side constantly kept charging at the Reds’ goal.
Neymar then proceeded to double his side’s advantage before the half-time break as he fired home a rebound in the 37th minute to make it 2-0.
Yet James Milner provided his side with hope before the half time break as he converted a penalty to make it 2-1 after Sadio Mane was brought down in the box.
Live 4 Liverpool have rated every single Liverpool player v PSG below from their 2-1 loss to them, with one player scoring a 3/10 as several struggled.
Goalkeeper and defence
Alisson Becker – 8 – Made an important parry as PSG made a first start to the game, then proceeded to make several good saves as the French giants cranked up the pressure. Got wrong-footed for the goal. Fantastic save moments before end of first half but the rebound fell to Neymar and the rest was history. Made another incredible save in the second half and denied Neymar in final minutes.
Joe Gomez – 4 – His long throw is a weapon as demonstrated in early stages. Booked for foul on Neymar in first half, which was a reflection of how uncomfortable he seemed at right back on Wednesday. Struggled throughout.
Dejan Lovren – 5 – Was far from being a rock at the back in the first half but his display will likely be overly criticised as he was being placed centrally in favour of Gomez.
Virgil van Dijk – 6 – Cleared the ball straight to Bernat ahead of the left-back opening the scoring, very sloppy by his standards. Made very important tackles in the early stages of the second half and got better as the game went on however.
Andy Robertson – 6 – Quiet in first half, didn’t charge forward like normal. Was more attacking in second half and made more an impact.
Midfield
Georginio Wijnaldum – 4 – Booked very early in the game, was harsh by all accounts. Quiet.
James Milner – 6 – Was absolutely bypassed in the build up to the first goal for PSG. Made up for it moments later to deny Kylian Mbappe a golden chance. Good cross to Roberto Firmino who headed it across goal, only for no one to be there. Constantly made excellent challenges in first half when the Reds were up against it. Converted the penalty to make it 2-1, nerves of steel.
Jordan Henderson – 4 – Beautifully chipped the ball towards Milner before half-time whistle but other than that was quiet in the first 45 minutes. Battled away but not much seem to come off for the midfielder.
Attack
Mohamed Salah – 5 – Weak effort which he dragged wide. Was generally the most active out of the front three in the first half, however still should have done more.
Sadio Mane – 6 – Stood at the edge of the box when clearly in space, should have let Milner know where he was as it would have been a clear chance for him. Sprung into action before half-time and was brought down to win a penalty for his efforts. Continued to excel in the second as he look lively upfront.
Roberto Firmino – 3 – Practically Anonymous in first-half and that didn’t change as the game went on. The big earner, he gets £180,000-a-wk (Source: Spotrac), needs to do more and improve quickly.
Substitutes
Wijnaldum off, Naby Keita on (66) – 6 – Nearly created a chance upon entering the game but over-hit his pass, clearly was up for the clash.
Firmino off, Daniel Sturridge on (72) – 5 – Got booked.
Milner off, Xherdan Shaqiri on (76)- 5 – Looked fired upon entering game but was poorer than usual when trying to make most of his minutes.
