I might as well copy and paste my introduction from almost every match this season!
Liverpool took the lead against Newcastle through an absolute beauty from Philippe Coutinho but were pegged back by a combination of horrendous defending and horrendous luck.
Liverpool now lie seven points off the top of the league with only seven games gone and we’re all increasingly getting the feeling that the season is slipping away from us. Many talked about a win putting us above Arsenal and Chelsea and level on points with Spurs but the reality is that the situation we find ourselves in going into the international break is a far more accurate representation of the mood around Liverpool Football Club at this present moment.
Here’s how I rated our lads in this game
SIMON MIGNOLET – 6
Hard to rate really when he had nothing substantial to do and was completely faultless for the goal. Did the simple stuff well, handling was good.
JOE GOMEZ – 3
Bit of an issue, this, now. When Trent Alexander-Arnold plays, he’s targeted defensively and when Gomez plays, the opposition allow him to have the ball as they know he won’t hurt them with it. He was dreadful in possession and was even caught out defensively at times too – which is the idea of having him in the team. Still think there’s a player in there but the position is a problematic one right now.
DEJAN LOVREN – 6
Thought he played well against Spartak Moscow and again against Newcastle. Must take into consideration how little these teams attacked and reflect that in the rating but I can’t complain about him.
JOEL MATIP – 3
Could rant for hours about the goal. The most basic piece of defending and he manages to let the slowest man on the planet in on goal from the half way line. Why is he square on? He can see that Joselu is the only danger and there is absolutely no excuse for not dealing with it. He’s unlucky at the end but the damage was already done and another horrendous defensive error has cost us the game.
ALBERTO MORENO – 5
For the first hour of the game I thought Albie was really solid. Last half hour though he was wasteful and put some strange crosses in. Had an okay game.
JORDAN HENDERSON – 6
Didn’t think the captain was at the same level he was in the previous two but still had a pretty good game. Kept things ticking along quite nicely but was perhaps a bit too quiet especially second half.
GINI WIJNALDUM – 3
Loved Gini last season but he’s really beginning to frustrate me now. Come to the conclusion that his decision-making in possession is really quite poor – there was a point where he could have slipped someone in easily out left but didn’t see the pass. That isn’t the first time this season that has happened either. If the game isn’t open, what’s the point in playing him?
PHILIPPE COUTINHO – 8
The little Brazilian is back to his best and if he wasn’t, we’d find ourselves in a much worse position than we do. Curled in one of his trademark beauties and his passing was excellent throughout. Perhaps faded a bit second half, as most did.
SADIO MANE – 2
Gave Salah a 2/10 on Tuesday night for doing nothing so I have to be consistent. Touch was off, passing was off, rarely got into threatening positions and when he did, end product wasn’t there. An unusual off-day for Sadio.
DANIEL STURRIDGE – 4
Plenty of calls to start him and I was delighted when I saw his name on the team sheet. However, he didn’t have his best game. Showed signs in the first half but missed a sitter in the second. If you’re taking out Roberto Firmino’s work rate and selflessness, you need to have it replaced by the clinical finishing of the out-and-out number nine and if Sturridge isn’t taking those chances, there’s really no point in having him on the pitch.
MOHAMED SALAH – 5
Big improvement on Tuesday, thought he was a constant threat. The miss early on in the second half from the rebound is dreadful though. Also, will do anything not to use his right foot which becomes predictable after a few times.
SUBSTITUTES:
ROBERTO FIRMINO:
Was desperate for him to come on but couldn’t really make much of an impact when he did. Not sure why Jurgen Klopp waited until 74 to make the sub.
DOMINIC SOLANKE:
Thought he actually had a good 20 minutes and gave them something to think about. Unlucky with a header which could have won the game.
ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN:
Wouldn’t mind him being given a run in midfield given the form of Wijnaldum and Emre Can and the absence of Adam Lallana. Missed a good chance with a header right at the death.
