Far from the frenetic games we saw between these two last season, this was a pretty dull affair with Liverpool and Manchester City both locking horns in a goalless draw.
There was drama, such as Riyad Mahrez’s late penalty which was as successful as when Phil Jones steps up to the spot, alongside chances for Mohamed Salah that would’ve been comfortably buried last season, but there was an overriding lack of golden opportunities for either team.
Here are the player ratings from the match.
Alisson 6
Didn’t have much to do in a game without much goalmouth action, but did his duties when called upon. For instance, he got down well at his near post to deny Riyad Mahrez’s low drive before guessing the right way for the forward’s penalty that sailed miles over the bar.
Joe Gomez 6
Shoehorned in at right-back in place of Trent and failed to show the attacking verve of his teammate. However, he did get down well on the flank as the second-half wore on, bombing beyond Leroy Sane to float in a cross to Daniel Sturridge. Looked a little jaded at times, miskicking a clearance that led to City having half a penalty shout.
Dejan Lovren 7
Had a few clumsy moments that gave City small penalty shouts that were rightfully turned away by the referee. A solid performance at the heart of the defence, keeping Aguero quiet at Anfield yet again while making a pivotal challenge to deny a counter-attacking opportunity.
Virgil van Dijk 7
Resolute in his defending, marshalling his back four and sniffing out the danger. Would’ve earned himself an eight but for a clumsy late challenge that gave City the chance to take all three points. With Sane running wide into the box, it was near on impossible angle to score from; Van Dijk should’ve used his experience to see him out rather than risk what could be a pivotal result in the long-term title race.
Andy Robertson 6
Limited in his attacking excursions due to Mahrez in the second-half but had a solid afternoon. None of his usual crossing excellence on show, though.
Wijnaldum 6
Key to Liverpool’s frantic pressing inside the opening ten-fifteen minutes before fading out slightly. Worked tirelessly in the middle to restrict City’s transition to attack. Some nice turns to get himself out of tricky situations.
Henderson 7
Liverpool’s man of the match, spraying passes out wide nicely and keeping an early tempo to proceedings. Tracked back and was diligent in his defending, delivering a real captain’s performance as he tried to inject some impetus into his team late on.
Milner 6
Taken off early on after a hamstring injury but looked bright before that point. Usual tireless running on display, picking his head up well to combine with his teammates. Hopefully, the injury isn’t too serious.
Salah 6
Lively in his movement in between the lines to stretch the defence, but again failed to show his clinical finishing from last season. Needs to make use of dangerous situations – the sooner the better!
Mané 5
Pretty quiet afternoon, struggling to get the better of Kyle Walker. A couple of bright moments but nothing much to rave about. Needs to step things up a notch.
Firmino 6
Far from his best game. Pressed well but didn’t create much in terms of goal scoring opportunities.
Substitutions
Naby Keita 6
Took a while to grow into the game and still appears a little off the pace as he adjusts to Klopp’s system. Could use some more of the dynamic runs he produced in his Leipzig days.
Daniel Sturridge 6
Not much to say. Did okay when coming on, helping out defensively and combining well with Salah. Only real chance was from Gomez’s cross but it was hard for him to generate any kind of power on his header.
Yup… Henderson turns up to get automatic 7. Played his usual sideways drab
I agree with you John… Lovren was the best player in that team with Gini, how he gets a 7 same as Mr Side passes is beyond me.
I will say this. He wasn’t the man of the match for me although I was pleased with his effort. In my humble opinion Lovren was a 8.5/9. He done exceptionally well not to throw in a tackle on Kun when it would have been easier to do so which probably saves the game as he would have taken the pen being on the field. I thought Alisson deserved a better rating as did MO. Friminho was the worst out of the front three for me, but Mane wasn’t much better. Gomez did well out of position until pep made a point of attacking him late on with Sane’ and the rest targeting him. Big VvD deserves a better rating to me as well with the pen stemming from covering Joe Gomez’so man which was Sane’.
* I will say this. He wasn’t the man of the match for me although I was pleased with his effort. (Henderson )