Where to start? As if a 3-0 home defeat to West Ham wasn’t bad enough, Liverpool put on another dismal display, losing 3-1 to Man United at Old Trafford. After a dreary first half which ended goalless, United took the lead through Blind following a well worked free kick routine. A rash challenge by Gomez allowed Herrera to add a second from the penalty spot, whilst any hopes of a late comeback following Benteke’s spectacular bicycle kick were immediately squashed by an excellent individual debut goal from Martial. Another heavy loss, and with just 7 points from our opening 5 fixtures, the fans are increasingly angry and disillusioned with Brendan Rodgers after he decided to bench Sakho once again and bizarrely field Firmino and Ings out wide rather than in their natural positions. The club is in disarray, and with no imminent signs of things improving, these are worrying times indeed. Here’s how I rated our players today.
Simon Mignolet- 4/10
Although not directly at fault for any of United’s goals, Mignolet’s overall performance was thoroughly unconvincing. Early on he almost gave away a ridiculous goal by passing straight to a United player on the edge of his own penalty area, whilst his general kicking and handling was erratic and spread nerves and uncertainty throughout the defence.
Nathaniel Clyne- 5/10
Clyne has definitely been one of Liverpool’s best performers so far this season but this was comfortably his worst performance to date. He was too easily beaten on several occasions, whilst he gave the ball away cheaply at times. His foul on Young led to the free kick from which United opened the scoring as he allowed the winger to get goal side of him- an uncharacteristic mistake from a usually very solid defender.
Martin Skrtel- 3/10
Today showed the very worst of Skrtel and proved why he cannot be relied upon in defence. In the first half there were some needlessly dangerous passes which almost gave the ball away in key areas, highlighting his inability to play out from the back. He was then embarrassed late on as 19 year-old Martial made a fool of him, effortlessly turning him inside out as he slotted home the third for United with ease. That’s now two very poor displays in a row from the Slovakian.
Dejan Lovren- 5/10
After his awful showing against West Ham, Lovren didn’t do an awful lot wrong on this occasion. He made some important headers and interceptions but his ability on the ball leaves much to be desired and he always gives the impression of an accident waiting to happen. Nonetheless, he was by no means our worst performer on the day.
Joe Gomez- 4/10
It’s a tough place for an 18 year-old centre half to go, playing at left back in front of the Old Trafford crowd. In parts Gomez coped well enough, making some strong challenges and bringing the ball out from the back with pace and purpose. His inexperience then showed in the second half as he brought down Herrera with a lunging tackle, failing to get any of the ball and giving away the penalty for the crucial second goal. He will learn from this mistake, although I can’t help but feel it would do him good to take him out the firing line for a short while and give Moreno a run in the side.
Lucas Leiva- 4/10
A sloppy display by the Brazilian. It’s quite extraordinary that just weeks after looking like he was on his way out of the club, he finds himself in the starting lineup in a game of this magnitude. Lucas repeatedly gave away needless fouls in dangerous areas whilst his use of the ball lacked sharpness and accuracy with several stray passes.
Emre Can- 5/10
Can was one of the few players to show any real degree of urgency with some powerful and incisive runs in what was generally a toothless attacking display by Liverpool. He did well to regain possession numerous times and worked hard with his pressing, although his final ball was lacking as he had an excellent opportunity to play Benteke in but chose to delay his pass until the striker was offside.
James Milner- 5/10
The usual pressing and harrying were present as always, but Milner’s passing wasn’t sharp enough and he doesn’t yet look entirely at home in this central midfield role. As with Lucas, he gave away cheap fouls too many times and he was also unable to provide any form of attacking spark.
Roberto Firmino- 5/10
I simply cannot understand why Rodgers persistently plays Firmino out wide on the right. He is clearly a talented player but we will not see the best of our £29 million man when he is so obviously wasted out of position- Firmino needs to play centrally to have the best chance to influence games. Nonetheless, his work rate was exemplary, especially in the first half, but in terms of contribution in the final third there were only brief flashes of skill, whilst he also scuffed a glaring opportunity just wide from close range in the second half.
Danny Ings- 6/10
Making his first Liverpool start, Ings was one of the few players to come out of the game with any credit. He was direct and industrious, making clever forward runs and tracking back when needed. He came close to scoring his first goal for the club as he slightly mis-hit a volleyed effort in the second half which was well saved by De Gea. On the whole, it was a positive performance by Ings, but again, it’s clear he is a striker, so to play him on the left hand side doesn’t seem to make any sense.
Christian Benteke- 7/10
What. A. Goal. One moment of individual brilliance from the £32.5 million man provided a very brief glimmer of hope as he smashed a spectacular bicycle kick into the top corner to bring the scoreline to 2-1, only for Martial to score minutes later. It was a truly special strike by the Belgian, and although ultimately meaningless in the context of the match, it goes to show his sheer quality. However, Benteke is still too isolated and not getting enough decent service in the box, but his strength to hold players off, win headers and bring others into play were superb. Rodgers needs to find a way maximise his strengths, because in Benteke we have an extremely gifted striker.
Substitutes
Jordon Ibe- 5/10
Replacing Firmino with 25 minutes to go, Ibe provided one moment of brilliance with a powerful, curling left footed strike which looked destined for the top corner before De Gea pulled off an excellent save to deny Ibe his first Liverpool goal.
Divock Origi- N/A
Replaced Ings for the last 15 minutes but was unable to make his mark on the game.
Alberto Moreno- N/A
Barely involved as he replaced Lucas for the final few minutes.
Red Regista
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