A capitulation from Liverpool which saw Leicester score 3 goals in 7 minutes gave the Reds their fifth loss in seven matches. Here are my player ratings for Saturday afternoon’s outing at the King Power.
Alisson Becker — 7. Think people blaming him for the second goal are more revealing their agenda against the best goalkeeper in the world rather than providing objective analysis of his performance. Perhaps he should have shouted for Kabak to get out of his way for the second goal but it should be clear to a defender that a keeper coming out of his box who is facing the action supersedes his authority. Made some fantastic saves otherwise, including one from point-blank range and making himself big against Vardy one-on-one in the first half. A victim of scapegoating from Top Reds™.
Trent Alexander-Arnold — 7. Played quite well with some useful balls put into the box. Not at fault for any of the goals.
Ozan Kabak — 2. Disastrous debut. Even if you don’t fault him for the second goal (which you should) he’s clearly to blame for the third. Leaves Harvey Barnes free as a bird down that left hand side, allowing Leicester to cut us up with two passes. Not a good start at all.
Jordan Henderson — 7. Surprisingly is filling in really well at centre back, and is certainly outperforming those whose regular job it is to play there. I can’t give anyone higher than a 7 in that sort of game though.
Andy Robertson — 6. Quite an uneventful game for Robertson who, like Trent, played no part in any of the goals.
James Milner — N/A. Gutted for Milner who finally gets his chance to shine and put a run of games together then immediately gets injured. You could see his frustration as he went off. I’ve always hoped that when he retires he stays at the club in a management/training capacity.
Thiago — 3. Going under the radar as the flop of the season. Defensively a huge liability who keeps giving away free kicks in dangerous areas with stupidly rash challenges. And for all the talk of how good he is on the ball going forward: 11 matches, 0 goals, 0 assists. Could’ve easily had a penalty given against him today, although they scored from the ensuing free kick anyway.
Georginio Wijnaldum — 5. Wijnaldum will be a lot more at home in the Barcelona system where he can play those mindless sideways passes he loves so much until the cows come home and won’t have to worry about being pressed. Offers absolutely nothing going forward and can’t tackle either. What’s the point?
Curtis Jones — 5. Did absolutely nothing except give fans a minor heart attack when he went on another walkabout with the ball at the back. But it’s OK because he’s young, Scouse, and shows passion and desire. Won’t be a starter at Liverpool FC in the long run.
Mohamed Salah — 6. Fair enough it was a lovely finish for his goal. However Pepperidge Farm remembers his three earlier sitters which could’ve changed the dynamic of the game entirely and his terrible pass in the middle of the park which led to a goal. It should be noted also that this wasn’t the first instantiation of such a mistake by Salah. Not sure I can tear too much into the only consistent scorer on the team, however.
Roberto Firmino — In an ideal world where Diogo Jota never got injured, Firmino would’ve been rightly ousted to the bench and not playing anymore. His decline in form over the last couple of years has been enormous, it is high time Liverpool found a replacement for their number 9 who isn’t a real number 9 and never was who has 15 goals in his last 62 PL appearances. I suppose he did a nice bit of skill for the Salah goal. I don’t blame him for playing the equaliser onside, if anything it would’ve been a very fortuitous stroke of luck if it was offside, as Leicester had already won 4 free kicks on that left hand side at that point. The goal was coming.
Sadio Mané — 5. He’s been quietly awful his last few games. As is the Mané way, he’ll randomly play a 10/10 at some point in the future and all will be forgotten. Had one great moment where he ran through three Leicester players and won a free kick just outside the box.
Jurgen Klopp: Out. And I expect even more fans to join me in this position when we’re inevitably knocked out of the Champions League by Leipzig. Two more early domestic cup exits, a woeful title defense and one whiny excuse-giver who, like at Dortmund, has burnt out like a straw house and has run his course. Albeit not helped by the parsimonious FSG or his injury luck, Klopp has managed to turn a title-winning, record-breaking side that some were calling ‘the best ever’ into the laughing stock of the league who now appear unlikely to qualify for even the Europa League. A combination of poor/lack of signings has left our squad so barren that the pensioner James Milner has become a regular starter in midfield and the defense has seen 17 different centre back pairings. Not to mention the fact that the same front three have been starting for over three years now, and have been well and truly found out by the rest of the league. Klopp is outfoxed by any manager with two brain cells and a video player who can see that a low block will all but guarantee that we won’t score. But of course there is no option from the bench other than the pitiful Divock Origi, who would not start for most Championship sides.
