Liverpool traveled to the Britannia to take on Stoke City in their inaugural match of 2015-16. The Reds deployed a professional display to scrape a 1-0 victory past the Potters on opening day. A moment of brilliance from Philippe Coutinho won all three points at Stoke on a hot, sunny afternoon. But could they have done it on a cold, wet Tuesday night?
Player ratings ahead.
Don’t be shy in telling me how many times I was wrong.
Simon Mignolet, 7: Mignolet picks up his first clean sheet of the season and deservedly so. He played a clean match. In the few moments of calamity for the otherwise solid defence, Mignolet seemed to inspire confidence behind his back line.
Nathanial Clyne, 6: A good debut for the former Southampton man. Nothing spectacular, but he played well in his role in a solid defence. Clyne didn’t get forward as much as he normally does and normally will do, but it wasn’t necessary today. He and Jordon Ibe seem to link well. Liverpool fans must be salivating at the thought of them two on the right flank.
Martin Skrtel, 6: *Opens a thesaurus in search of a synonym for “solid”*
Ah, yes.
Structured performance for Skrtel. But seriously, solid is a great word to describe the defence as a whole. A few times they let Mignolet down, but thankfully Glen Johnson seemed to be the danger man, and Johnson’s idea of “danger man” is “slightly annoyed man wielding a plastic knife,” so they were lucky in that regard. Set piece defending was a bit suspect as per usual and that’s got to be down to Skrtel, Dejan Lovren and Mignolet for not sorting it better.
Dejan Lovren, 7: So this is what Liverpool handed Southampton £20m for? A strong showing from Lovren to start the season. He’s got some confidence, which is always great to see. Watching on the television, he didn’t give you the impression that he might sprint into the stands to make an (unsuccessful) challenge on the ball like last year, so that’s an improvement. A reason to pump the breaks, though, is that he only had to deal with Mame Diouf. He’s a decent player, but let’s see how Lovren and company fare against a more prolific attacking side.
Joe Gomez, 6: Brendan Rodgers throws a right footed 18-year-old centre-half new signing from Charlton Athletic into left full-back for his debut on opening day away at Stoke and the kid didn’t implode? Good enough for me. Gomez was very… erm, secure, on the day. Jonathan Walters is a decent player and a fighter, but, provided Gomez was up for a fight, he was going to be a decent match-up for Gomez. And he was up for the fight.
Jordan Henderson, 6: Captain Fantastic! (too soon?) Henderson lead well in his first match as full captain and played sound. A standard Jordan Henderson performance that fans have come accustomed to. Every game a little more of Stevie Gerrard rubs off on him as he’s thoughtlessly pinging successful 55-yard passes to the flanks. The industry on display between him and Milner together is a joy to watch. They make me feel like I had a good workout when I’m lounging on the couch.
James Milner, 6: Milner enjoyed an average, experienced display as Liverpool’s new number 7. A player like Milner is vital to a side that intends on travelling to the Britannia and leaving with all three points. A professional job personified by the Englishman.
Jordon Ibe, 6 (OFF 78′): The 19-year-old was a deserved inclusion in the opening day XI after his pre-season. As with most 19-year-olds, his decision making in the final third could use polishing as well as his consistency. But, he works hard and defends for the team. Important qualities for someone as good as he is, as young as he is. The future is bright for Ibe.
Philippe Coutinho, 8 (MoM): He’s earned his 8 and incredibly prestigious Man of the Match award from me for more than just his worldie in the 86th minute. What follows isn’t quantifiable nor exactly defendable, but, you get the feeling that every time a ball is rolled in his direction that he’s going to do something you’ll see on YouTube later. Coutinho plays on the cusp of something great with every positive touch and dribble. He manufactures space for himself supremely. A few times he held onto the ball too long and left Christian Benteke hungry for service, but, with moments such as what occurred in the 86th minute, you live with the few cases of excessive dribbling. Liverpool’s number 10 is special.
Adam Lallana, 5 (OFF 63′): Not good enough from Lallana. All too similar to last year, he doesn’t earn a chance to last the 90. He hardly influenced the match at all. A positive, though, you always know you’ll get the work rate out of Lallana, thus never rendering himself useless. He’s just got to show more each match and get more of an imprint on the game. He possesses the quality and attitude to do it.
Christian Benteke, 6: There was an imbalance on the day regarding Benteke. At times, the team tried too hard to remind him of Aston Villa by hopelessly launching long balls in his general direction with no support. At other times, they played around him. An overall decent debut for the £32.5m man. He did his job but was starved for service. Benteke will hope to see the chances flow on his Anfield debut against Bournemouth next match.
SUBS:
Emre Can, 6 (ON 63′): Both substitutes played just enough and were involved just enough to garner a rating from the match.
Can came on and was sound in possession, allowing Henderson and Milner to move further forward.
Roberto Firmino, 6 (ON 78′): On his debut the Brazilian flicked the ball over an opposing player about four times. That’d be impressive if it was over 90 minutes at Anfield against Norwich, let alone at the Britannia in limited time during a 0-0 then 1-0 match. He was suave and calm on the ball, sometimes too calm, though. Looking forward to his full debut.
