Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side booked their place in the quarter finals of the EFL Cup on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over Premier League rivals Tottenham in a hard fought game at Anfield. Here are my ratings from the night…
Starters
Simon Mignolet – 7/10
It was a big night for Mignolet, his first game back since being dropped, and he was absolutely fine. Didn’t have much to do but claimed a few crosses successfully and his kicking was largely okay. Went the wrong way for the penalty, but still a good performance.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7/10
It was an even bigger night for this local lad, making his Liverpool debut at right back. He did really well for the most part, attacking well down the right side whilst being positionally aware. Made a very rash challenge, which screamed inexperience, but overall it was a solid debut.
Lucas Leiva – 7/10
Captain for the night and as always, a reliable and solid performer. Marshalled Janssen really well, cut out several diagonal balls and looked to help out Alexander-Arnold to his right hand side. Played a delightfully timed ball around the full back into Sturridge in the second half. Gave away the penalty, which was soft, but shouldn’t be giving the ref a decision to make.
Ragnar Klavan – 5/10
Looked a bit rusty tonight, if truth be told. Ball playing was pretty awful, gave away the ball on several occasions and put us under pressure. Having said that, he seems a knowledgeable enough defender to be aware of when to just ‘get rid’.
Alberto Moreno – 7/10
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Miles, miles, miles better from Moreno tonight. Attacked superbly down the left hand side and delivered a few really nice balls. Made one exceptional challenge late in the first half. Was positionally all over the place but that’s what we’ve come to expect by now.
Kevin Stewart – 7/10
The word I’ve seen used to describe Stewart many a time is ‘tidy’. He just does his job so sensibly and was an understated star of this team performance. Performs very similarly in the deep role to Lucas Leiva.
Marko Grujic – 6/10
Showed lots of nice touches on the ball and is clearly a talented player. Has a bit of pace and got to the byline ahead of his man on a few occasions. A little disappointing to see him lose so many challenges though considering his size.
Georginio Wijnaldum – 8/10
One of the best displays of anyone on the night. Not a goal getter yet in a red shirt, but the quality he offers this team is immense. Controlled the midfield superbly and played an absolutely glorious ball through to Sturridge for the second goal.
Ovie Ejaria – 6/10
Clearly a capable player, we saw flashes of Ejaria’s ability tonight. I like to see him taking the ball on the half turn and running with it, something we saw a few examples of tonight. A pretty quiet home debut, but a good one overall.
Divock Origi – 9/10
Source: liverpoolfc.com
My man of the match. Absolutely electrifying performance from start to finish. Played out wide, not his natural position, but that didn’t bother him one bit. Used his strength and pace to cause havoc for Ben Davies all night, and was very unlucky not to have a goal for himself. I tweeted last night that Origi has the best first touch and hold up play of any Liverpool player I can remember – and I meant it.
Daniel Sturridge – 8/10
Eight days on from his horror showing at Anfield against Manchester United, Sturridge was much better tonight. Relied on instinct, innovation and intelligence to get his two goals, and all round seemed to work a lot harder tonight. The second was much like his Villarreal goal, a bit fortunate to go in off the keeper. Definitely should’ve had more than two but hopefully this will give him the confidence and inspiration he needs to become a bigger part of the squad.
Substitutes
Danny Ings – 6/10
Great to see him make his first Anfield appearance in more than a year, and looked okay. Had a great chance to kill the game off but you can blame that on rustiness.
Nathaniel Clyne – 6/10
Came on for Alexander-Arnold and didn’t have much to do all in all.
Emre Can – N/A
Another few minutes of match fitness under his belt.
Daniel Daykin
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I really enjoyed reading this review, and your ratings. I was pleased that Klopp chose Mignolet in goal. Looking forward to seeing Emre Can back to fitness.