Liverpool continued their worrying patch of form with another sub-par display on Tuesday evening. Up against Leicester in the Carabao Cup, The Reds dominated the first forty-five minutes, creating multiple chances but failing to make them count. Such misgivings were punished in the second-half when Liverpool’s defensive frailties came back to bite them again.
Here are the ratings from the game.
Danny Ward – 6
Can’t be attached blame for either of Leicester’s goals. In general, he coped pretty well and executed things well when called upon, including a fast sprint off his line to close down Slimani.
Jon Flanagan – 6
Put in a decent display down the flank, coping well in the main with the pace of Demarai Gray. However, he remains way off the starting eleven for Liverpool in terms of the Premier League.
Joe Gomez – 7
The young centre-back coped well with Ulloa and Slimani, looking assured on the ball and off it with some powerful clearances. It won’t have done him any harm as he looks to stake a claim for a starting berth in Klopp’s regular eleven.
Ragnar Klavan – 6
Struggled to contend with the pace and power of Okazaki, as evident by the forward’s second-half goal. The Estonian continued to look sub-par and clearly represents a strong decline in quality in comparison to Liverpool’s usual centre-backs.
Andy Robertson – 7
Arguably Liverpool’s best and most exciting player on the pitch, Robertson provided a real option down the left-hand side. Getting forward well in support of the attack, he delivered a series of exceptional crosses into the danger zone that were begging to be tapped into the net. None of his teammates obliged, however.
Jordan Henderson – 5Â
Henderson’s poor start to the season continued on Tuesday night, with the captain struggling to provide incisive passes across the pitch. Offered little energy going forward and was unable to claw Liverpool back into the game once they inevitably fell behind.
Gini Wijnaldum – 6
Much brighter than Henderson in the attacking third, Wijnaldum drove forward with the ball and looked to attack the penalty area. In addition, he was eager to hunt the ball down and regain possession for the away side. However, the second-half saw him deteriorate.
Marko Grujic – 7Â
Physically, Grujic represents the perfect midfielder for Liverpool. He added something completely different to his teammates and delivered a series of pleasing passes to link the midfield and attack. Hopefully, we’ll see him become a more regular feature in the next few weeks and months.
Philippe Coutinho – 7
The Brazilian was eager to deliver for Liverpool, looking sharp and threatening on the ball. However, he still needs a bit of dusting off to get back to the real Coutinho – Klopp will be hoping that comes soon rather than later. Subbed off at half-time, Liverpool began to lose their momentum and attacking impetus.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5
Starting his first game for the club, Chamberlain cut a very nervous figure for most of the game. His decision-making was often found wanting along with poor footing that saw him fall over on numerous occasions. Chamberlain did improve as the game wore on, although he has some work to do if he wants to be a regular in Klopp’s team.
Dominic Solanke – 5Â
Missed a great chance to put Liverpool ahead from close-range but worked hard in the grand scheme of things. Solanke tried hard to win the ball back for the Reds but found it hard leading the line alone, particularly in the second-half where Leicester took more control.
i think klopp is not ready to win anything for lfc and unfortunately for we the fan it has sunk into the players’ mind…..so they just play for fun and are content with that….you heard into a window knowing your flaws from a previous season and you still don’t bring out a solution,how on earth,a manager of your calibre and pedigree….i was one of the advocates for his coming but am sorry to say am disappointed….if he had been serious and signed players we should have won the league last season if an extra player for manes position was sorted earlier on in the window of last season….klopp is a joke,simple…..he’s not serious.look at guardiola and mourinho,ruthless.cos in the long run you are the one going to be fired not the player,if he plays badly,bench him or move him on….that hug and handshake he gives the players after every game i honestly think it’s unnecessary
As I have been saying all along. Klopp and this team of clowns will win nothing. Klopp is a FAKE so get rid of him because he won’t quit because the money is good for him. To win games let alone winning trophies you need to have that fire inside always burning like Guardiola and Mourihno. But Klopp is an idiot who cannot see how his team performs.
When we secured Klopp’s signature, I believed we were getting a manager in the same league as Guardiola and Mourinho. We now know that Klopp doesn’t solve problems as quickly or incisively than the other two. His decision to sell Sakho given how poor Lovren and Klavan are was extraordinary. Klopp seems not to understand that one of your midfielders must have a defensive mindset. He also thinks Mignolet is a good goalkeeper and that Firmino (who will never reach 20 league goals in his career) is a striker. In short…. Klopp isn’t improving Liverpool at all. We have similar problems to when he arrived.