Liverpool Squad Rankings: September 2018

A very warm welcome to the second instalment of my new monthly series; Liverpool Squad Rankings. At the end of each match, I award players marks out of ten, and then collate their match ratings from the month to produce an average rating for their performances that month. Each month I will rank the players by their monthly average rating, and as the season progresses, be able to track their average rating for the campaign.

September has seen the club exit the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle but make a great start to the Champions League campaign, all the while navigating their way through a tricky set of Premier League fixtures, maintaining the unbeaten start and gaining valuable points away at Tottenham and Chelsea. Here are the squad rankings for the month just gone…

Player of the Month: Joe Gomez

One of the stories of the season has undoubtedly been the rise of Joe Gomez. His September has been highly successful, with impressive and assured displays across the board. A feature of his game this month has been the last-ditch interceptions and tackles, exhibited perfectly against Leicester and Chelsea. Assured, calm and always composed, Gomez has firmly established himself as the partner to Van Dijk. Perhaps the greatest measure of his importance to the team was the fact that he was rested from the matchday squad entirely against Chelsea in the cup – something that only happens for the team’s really big hitters.

2) Virgil Van Dijk

In times gone by, when would Liverpool’s top two players of the month be centre backs? The colossus has been superb again in September, with a stunning centre back performance at Wembley helping Liverpool record a big win against title rivals Tottenham. Van Dijk has become probably the most important player in the team, as exemplified by the reaction of horror and panic when he went off injured against Southampton – everyone knew that losing Van Dijk for any period of time would be curtains for any title hopes.

=) Georginio Wijnaldum

It’s Double Dutch tie for 2^nd place with Gini Wijnaldum joining Virgil Van Dijk as the joint second highest ranking player of the month. September has seen Wijnaldum grab a crucial away goal at Tottenham – his first away goal in the Premier League – as well as put in dominant midfield performances against PSG and Chelsea. Wijnaldum has been terrific in the number six role so far and has surprised people with his capability in that deeper role. 

4) Daniel Sturridge

What a month it’s been for Daniel Sturridge. A start against PSG in place of the injured Roberto Firmino resulted in the Englishman netting a great header in the first half. He continued his scoring streak with a lovely acrobatic finish to give Liverpool the lead in the cup tie against Chelsea, though missed a far easier chance earlier in the game. Then came his moment of the month, coming on in the 86^th minute away at Stamford Bridge and scoring a beautiful long-range curler to snatch the Reds a highly valuable point. Usually I need a player to be on the pitch at least 10 minutes to give them a mark – but in this instance I could make an exception – how could he not get a ten? And here’s a stat that not many would’ve predicted: Daniel Sturridge is our joint top scorer this season.

5) Andy Robertson

Possibly Liverpool’s most consistent player, you’ll never get a bad game out of Andy Robertson. Chelsea away in the league was one of his weaker performances for Liverpool, and even then he still scored a six, because he just hardly ever puts a foot wrong. Going forward he has been superb this month, particularly in the early games, and defensively he is always solid. The highlight of Robertson’s month was his splendid assist for Daniel Sturridge’s opener against PSG. As well as being an excellent defender, the Scot is always such a threat with his pinpoint crossing.

6) Simon Mignolet

Mignolet’s first appearance of the season came in the cup game with Chelsea and the Belgian stopper put in a very impressive display. He made two very smart stops from Alvaro Morata, and made an excellent save to deny Ross Barkley, which ended up being turned in for the equaliser by Emerson. Fair play to Mignolet, whose attitude is always exemplary.

7) James Milner

The consistency and reliability of James Milner has once again been exemplified this month. A solid midfield display against Leicester was followed up by two absolute monster performances against Tottenham and PSG – the latter including a calm penalty in front of the Kop. Milner absolutely bossed the midfield in both games and proved his worth beyond any doubt. He was rightly rested for Southampton but played the second half and fitted in seamlessly. His two Chelsea performances were less impressive, but the quality and energy this man possesses at his age is phenomenal.

8) Xherdan Shaqiri

We’ve started to see Shaqiri get a bit more game time this month after his £13m move from Stoke City. Two bright substitute appearances against Leicester and PSG earned Shaqiri his first start of the season, at home to Southampton. The new no.23 was magnificent, offering loads going forward and working hard to inject real quality and the Swiss international played a massive part in Liverpool’s 3-0 half time lead, forcing the first goal through a teasing cross before smashing an unbelievable free kick against the bar which was tapped in by Salah for the third. Despite being taken off at half time, this was not a reflection on his performance, with Jurgen Klopp explaining how difficult it was to bring him off. He played similarly well in the cup game against Chelsea, being Liverpool’s best attacking outlet all game, with just the final pass missing. He was brought on in the second half at Stamford Bridge and was heavily involved but missed a glorious opportunity to equalise. It’s been a good month for Shaqiri and he’ll have plenty of game time on the way.

=) Roberto Firmino

Firmino has been back in the goals this month, scoring in three consecutive games at the start of September. He scored an excellent header to double the lead at Leicester in an otherwise quiet performance, before he was at his absolute best at Wembley. The Brazil striker put in a tremendous display against Tottenham as he worked insanely hard and scored a tap-in in the second half. One of the most admirable things about Firmino’s game is his work rate and ball-winning, two traits which came to the fore in the Tottenham game. His eye injury kept him out of the starting eleven against PSG, but after coming on from the bench, he had the final say, ragging a few defenders and slotting into the bottom corner to send Anfield into raptures and win the game for Liverpool. His last few performances have been less impressive though – there are certain games where Firmino is sloppy in possession and gives away needless fouls – but this month has proven how key he is to Liverpool’s chances.

=) Dejan Lovren

After a controversial injury delayed Lovren’s start to the season, he had become a bit of a forgotten man until he was selected to start the Carabao Cup tie with Chelsea. Lovren won a lot aerially and played well, dominating Alvaro Morata and offering good organisation to a clearly second-choice defence. Despite this good performance, it’s difficult to see him replacing Gomez or Van Dijk at the moment.

11) Trent Alexander-Arnold

After an initially very difficult start to the season, Trent Alexander-Arnold has quietly gone about his business in the last few games and has been very impressive. In both areas of the pitch the right back has been exemplary of late, with Southampton being a particularly good performance. He wasn’t overawed by the threats of Neymar or Eden Hazard – arguably the two best wingers in the world – and stood up to the challenge of both this month. Sure, we need to see a little more quality from him in the attacking third but the below-par performance of Nathaniel Clyne in the Carabao Cup was a timely reminder of how good Trent is, and what he offers to this team.

=) Alisson Becker

A month that started with question marks after a mistake to allow Kelechi Iheanacho to score at Leicester has finished with everyone reassured of why Klopp was so keen to spend the big bucks on this guy – he’s top class. Since that mistake at Leicester (a game that also saw him make very good saves from Maddison and Gray), he has put in solid displays against Tottenham, PSG and Southampton, before an excellent goalkeeping performance at Stamford Bridge, producing a string of saves to deny the Blues a second goal before Liverpool equalised late on. A shame he hasn’t got many clean sheets this month, but don’t let that disguise what a wonderful addition to this team Alisson Becker is.

13) Naby Keita

Naby Keita hasn’t seen as much game time this month, with only two starts, but he has still looked impressive. A sub appearance against Leicester was welcome minutes ahead of a positive showing in the midfield three at Wembley. Keita’s acceleration and drive from the centre of the park is a real feature of his play, and he showed this on numerous occasions as Liverpool were dumped out of the Carabao Cup – in my opinion he was our best player on the night. He was unlucky not to have a goal himself and it was his strike that came into the path of Sturridge for the goal. The dynamic nature of his game is going to be so important this season, and when he came on against Chelsea on Saturday he instantly added more bite and technical ability to the midfield – and I hope we see more and more of this man from the start in October.

14) Mohamed Salah

Don’t believe the press agenda. Mohamed Salah is playing well. He is still key to Liverpool’s play and is one of our most dangerous outlets. What is lacking right now is the end product and composure in front of goal. Leicester, Tottenham and PSG were all similar performances – bright sparks and rapid on the counter, but a mixture of selfishness, poor decision making, and wayward shooting stopped him from adding to his goal tally. Southampton was an excellent performance though and being alive to the Shaqiri free kick was an example of Salah’s predatory nature. Bringing him on against Chelsea with three minutes left was ridiculous, and while his display at Stamford Bridge was an exhibition of off-target shooting, he was still our most threatening player. Don’t worry, Salah is going to be just fine this season.

15) Sadio Mane

Mane is the only player who has started every game so far this season, and there are signs that fatigue may be starting to affect him. He bagged his fourth goal of the season in the win over Leicester, and was incredibly dangerous against Tottenham, but on numerous occasions wasted opportunities through a combination of selfishness and poor decision making. The rest of the month has seen Mane produce laboured performances. Always an outlet with his pace, but his goals have dried up after a superb start, and he has looked a little lost at certain times. Southampton was a good display as he got involved and wasn’t afraid to take his man on, but in both Chelsea games he didn’t get involved enough, particularly the cup game in which he should’ve been our talisman. We need to manage his game time so that we don’t end up with one of our most important players unable to fire on all cylinders due to burnout.

=) Joel Matip

A Joel Matip goal is a rarity, and the Cameroon defender registered his first Anfield goal as a Liverpool player this month. After two very late substitutions at Leicester and Tottenham, his first start of the season came in the win over Southampton. A comfortable game for Matip, he dealt with the little threat that Shane Long and Charlie Austin posed with relative ease. Added to this, he netted the second goal with a towering header. He was slightly less impressive against Chelsea, with some very stray passing, but Matip is a very solid defender and will always be a reliable player when called upon.

=) Fabinho

Fabinho has finally made his first Liverpool appearances. A few minutes of injury time in the PSG game were nowhere near enough to warrant a mark, but the Brazilian played the vast majority of the Chelsea game at Anfield, in what was his first start. Some of his passing was stray, but his tough tackling and ball-winning was excellent. There were positive signs from this performance, and I look forward to seeing much more of him in October.

18) Jordan Henderson

Liverpool’s captain has been involved in every game in September, including four starts. His first start of the campaign came away at Leicester, and the former Sunderland man was sloppy and careless in possession, a theme that continued in his substitute appearance at Wembley. However, Henderson turned it right round for PSG, and put in one of the most complete midfield performances Anfield will see all season – he absolutely bossed it. It must be said that Henderson really does rise to Champions League occasions when the tempo of the game is different and he can look for the raking balls that just don’t come off in the Premier League. He played well against Southampton too, but failed to change the game against Chelsea in the cup (and made a right mess of the free kick at the bitter end) before a very disappointing day at Stamford Bridge saw him hooked in the second half. A month of mixed performances from Henderson.

19) Alberto Moreno

The first appearance of Moreno’s season came in the Carabao Cup exit at Anfield. It was an awful start to the game the Spaniard, who was getting absolutely rinsed by Victor Moses. However he got better as the game went on and made some good tackles. Surprisingly though he was not much of an attacking outlet, and if truth be told, showed why Andy Robertson is so well loved among fans.

20) Nathaniel Clyne

Clyne’s first outing in the 2018/19 season was in the cup defeat to Chelsea. The right back struggled defensively and offered little going forward in what was ultimately a disappointing display. We all know how good Clyne can be, and he’ll need to rediscover his 15/16 and 16/17 form if he is to displace Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Not involved this month: Lallana, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Brewster, Origi, Solanke, Phillips, Jones, Markovic, Kelleher, Camacho, Chirivella, Grabara

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Daniel Daykin

A non-biased voice of reason among fellow Liverpool fans. I'll always tell you the truth, no matter how hard you find it to accept. I miss Suarez. A lot.

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