Liverpool completed the ‘international treble’ in 2019 by beating Flamengo 1-0 after extra-time to win the FIFA Club World Cup.
Roberto Firmino scored the winning goal of the game in the first half of extra-time to seal the deal for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
The goal was scored when Jordan Henderson released Sadio Mane on the counter. The latter then had the presence of mind to find Firmino’s run. The Brazilian international then turned two defenders and the goalkeeper before scoring the goal.
Liverpool had chances in normal time to score, but Firmino missed two good opportunities, while Naby Keita and Mohamed Salah also missed a few big chances.
All in all, it was a game that was high on drama and commitment but it ended up going the way of the team which had more stamina to last the two hours of the match.
Here’s how we rated the Liverpool players after the game:
Alisson - 7
The Brazilian made a couple of good saves and was decent enough on the ball.
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7
The youngster had a good game where he was solid defensively and picked his moments well to join the attack.
Joe Gomez - 8
Gomez had a great game both defensively and on the ball. Some of his passing was fantastic and his reading of the game was sumptuous. He’s starting to hit form at a very good time for the Reds.
Virgil van Dijk - 9
Coming back from illness, the Dutchman commanded the defence well and made some good defensive interceptions whenever he was needed.
Andy Robertson - 7
A reserved game from the Scotsman where he remained solid defensively but didn’t offer much going forward.
Jordan Henderson - 9
A captain’s performance from Henderson in central midfield. He made some good passes, protected the back-line, had one effort well saved by the keeper and started the move that saw Liverpool score the only goal of the game.
Naby Keita - 7
Apart from a simple chance he missed early on, Keita had a decent game where he knitted things in between the lines. He worked hard off the ball as well. Subbed off in extra-time.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6
The Englishman looked good in patches but couldn’t really combine that into a wholesome performance. Had to be subbed off in the second half after suffering an ankle injury due to a reckless tackle on him, one that left him on crutches.
Mohamed Salah - 7
He was a nuisance to the opposition defence all game long and had a couple of chances which weren’t a million miles away from the goal. Got subbed off in the dying embers of extra-time as Klopp wanted to waste a few seconds.
Roberto Firmino - 8
The Brazilian missed two great chances in both halves of the normal game before scoring in extra-time. He was on and off in terms of being a threat for the opposition though. Subbed off in extra-time after he got the trophy-winning goal.
Sadio Mane - 7
Mane had a quiet game until the 90th minute when he was definitely brought down for at least a free-kick at the edge of the box. The referee had a stinker and after a VAR check, he changed his mind. The Senegalese forward responded by assisting Firmino’s winning goal in extra-time.
(SUB) Adam Lallana - 7
Brought on for Chamberlain, Lallana did well in controlling things in midfield, especially when Liverpool were trying to protect their lead.
(SUB) James Milner - 6
Came on and did his bit to control things and see the game out in favour of his team.
(SUB) Divock Origi - 7
Came on when Liverpool had taken the lead and did well in terms of holding the ball up and helping the team to be up the pitch as much as possible
(SUB) Xherdan Shaqiri - N/A
Came on for the final few seconds of the game as Klopp ran down the time to see the game out.