With Champions League qualification at stake for the winner of the competition, it’s clear that Brendan Rodgers is taking the Europa League very seriously this season. This was a rather cagey affair against the Turkish League leaders at Anfield, but a late Mario Balotelli penalty was enough to give the Reds a 1-0 lead before the 2nd leg in Istanbul next week. Here’s how our players performed on the night.
Source: liverpoolfc.com
Simon Mignolet – 8/10
Mignolet made an absolutely vital intervention in the first half which was a pivotal moment in the game. With Demba Ba racing towards goal in a horribly familiar fashion, towards the Kop end, the striker looked destined to put Besiktas in the lead only for Mignolet to get his body in the way and divert the shot wide, keeping his clean sheet intact. Another fine display from the in-form Belgian.
Emre Can – 5/10
Emre Can is human after all. After his hugely impressive form over the last couple of months, this was probably Can’s poorest game for Liverpool. He was caught out of position a few times at the back and misplaced several passes in dangerous areas. Thankfully, Besiktas couldn’t make it count and no harm was done. Can is only 21, so it’s hardly surprising especially in his first season if he has the occasional off-day.
Martin Skrtel – 6/10
This was a relatively quiet night for Skrtel. One or two rash challenges aside, he was reasonably solid at the back and dealt well enough with Demba Ba, clearing his lines sensibly and winning the majority of aerial duels.
Mamadou Sakho – 7/10
The partnership between Sakho and Moreno on the left hand side is growing game by game. The Frenchman had a really solid performance in this game, and stayed alert to keep Besiktas’ dangerous wingers from causing any meaningful damage. His passing was up to his usual high standards and was especially accurate, spotting the angled ball to begin an attack rather than a simply hoofing it long.
Jordon Ibe – 8/10
Another start for the 19 year old and another man of the match performance. His impact since returning from Derby has been fantastic. He was a constant menace on the right hand side, repeatedly willing to take on and beat his man. His fitness was evident as he still had a burst of pace to leave the Besiktas defender trailing helplessly behind him as he surged purposely into the box late on to draw the foul for the match winning penalty.
Joe Allen – 6/10
Finally Allen seems to have upped his game in Lucas’ absence. Previously this season he’s been ineffectual in midfield, but this was another tidy display by the Welshman. Although unspectacular and not particularly exciting, Allen used the ball well and won back possession on several occasions, although he needs to be a bit more ambitious when the opportunity is there to play a forward pass, as he often takes the safe option. He’s not top quality, but he’s being asked to do a job and at the moment he’s carrying out his duties well enough.
Jordan Henderson – 7/10
Captaining the team once more in Gerrard’s absence, Henderson displayed his excellent range of passing which has progressed enormously over the last couple of years, putting the likes of Sturridge and Ibe through multiple times, whilst his usual energy and pressing was put to good use to win possession and maintain control in midfield. Inexplicably it seems he’s Rodgers’ second choice penalty taker in Gerrard’s absence, despite only ever having taken one penalty in his career for Sunderland which he missed. However, Balotelli was having none of it, and to Henderson’s credit, although he wasn’t happy with the Italian taking it away from him, he didn’t kick up a fuss and handed the ball over, dealing with the situation in a captain’s fashion.
Alberto Moreno – 8/10
Moreno has become a regular fixture in Rodgers’ starting XI and this performance showed why. He suits this role perfectly, allowing him to get forward regularly. He offered pace and quality in the final third, helping link the play from out wide, driving forward regularly with confidence and was unlucky to be ruled offside after latching on to a through ball which put him clear on goal in the first half. He tracked back well and continues to form a formidable partnership with Sakho.
Adam Lallana – 6/10
Lallana symbolised Liverpool’s attacking performance on the night. There were numerous moments of intricate build up play and some deft touches in and around the area, yet all this without any real cutting edge. Lallana did however find useful pockets of space infield which dragged Besiktas’ left back towards him, freeing up more space for Ibe to exploit out wide. Lallana should have opened the scoring in the second half, firing over the bar from close range before being withdrawn for Coutinho with 30 minutes left.
Philippe Coutinho – 6/10
Coutinho’s performance was largely similar to Lallana in that he had some promising moments without really making it count. It didn’t quite happen for Coutinho on the night, and he was bundled off the ball a little too easy at times, taking a split second too long before making a pass. There was one moment of outrageous skill which he’s developed a reputation for, as he controlled a pass perfectly, performing a neat nutmeg to leave the Besiktas player sliding into thin air.
Daniel Sturridge – 5/10
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh, but such are Sturridge’s high standards that this performance was one of his least effective as far as I can remember in Liverpool colours. Of course, he’s still moving through the gears on his way back to full fitness and is understandably rusty, but his decision making on the night was poor and he gave the ball away too often in promising areas. He appeared slightly selfish on a few occasions, electing to shoot when the pass was a better option. Usually he looks up and spots the pass but he appeared to be trying too hard on this occasion. It was a shame to see him sulking after Balotelli converted the match winning penalty, but maybe that’s just his goal scorer’s instinct showing through as he was denied an opportunity to add to his individual tally.
Substitutes
Dejan Lovren – 7/10
As has been the case in the past few weeks, Lovren was used as a second half substitute to allow Can to move into midfield. His performances have certainly picked up since his disappointing start to the season and he was solid again here, showing great strength in the air to win several important headers. His passing was also impressive. It’s good to see signs of improvement from the £20 million man.
Mario Balotelli – 8/10
Balotelli replaced the tiring Coutinho with half an hour to spare, and once again, for the third game running he made a match winning contribution by successfully converting the penalty. Gerrard accused him of ‘disrespecting’ Henderson, who Rodgers had apparently made second choice penalty taker. Regardless, Balotelli took the ball off Henderson and calmly slotted it in the corner to win the match. As far as I’m concerned there’s no problem with that. Balotelli is one of the best penalty takers in the world, so he should be on spot kick duty whenever Gerrard isn’t on the pitch. Aside from the goal, which took his Liverpool tally up to 4 for the season, his all round play was absolutely superb. His first touch was excellent, he took people on, held the ball up, brought others into play and won several free kicks, showing a glimpse of his talent. If he can deliver that level of performance more consistently when given the chance, he could against all the odds manage to turn round his Liverpool career. I really hope he does.
Raheem Sterling – N/A
Sterling replaced Lallana with 15 minutes to go, and didn’t really have enough time to make a major impact. It was good to see him back in action after a 2 game injury lay off.
Red Regista
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