Liverpool’s Three Stars: Stoke (A)
Liverpool eased past Stoke City at the Bet365 Stadium. Goals from Sadio Mane and a brace from Mohamed Salah saw Liverpool come away with maximum points from Stoke.
Who were Liverpool’s three standout players in the game? Here’e who I selected:
Mohamed Salah
It’s just a given that he’s in here now. The guy didn’t even start but was still my Man of the Match. A superbly well taken volley for his first goal after some good work from Sadio Mane on the right hand side. His second goal, he did very well to put the pressure on Erik Pieters and then some really dodgy defending from the Stoke full-back allowed Salah to easily slot it past Lee Grant.
Sadio Mane
He was the outstanding player in orange in the first-half. Mane should have done better with the one-on-one he hit the post with but overall, he had a really strong game. His finish was intelligent and he showed excellent composure to put the ball over Lee Grant. His assist for Salah’s first was truly sublime. The Senegalese international sent Darren Fletcher to the shops and put in an inch perfect cross to find Salah at the far post. The winger looked back to his brilliant best.
Joel Matip
Matip had a really solid game. So did all of the back four but I think Matip was the best of the bunch. He won a lot of aerial duels against Peter Crouch which is obviously extremely difficult considering Crouch’s height and aerial prowess. His long passing, which I normally criticise strongly, looked spot on too. Matip was very calm and composed and I believe that rubbed off on the rest of the defence and made for a relatively comfortable evening for the visitors.