Match Overview
Liverpool comfortably dispatched Toulouse in a 5-1 victory on Thursday night at Anfield, with goals from Diogo Jota, Wataru Endo, Darwin Nunez, Ryan Gravenberch and Mohamed Salah being enough to bring the points home.
The victory puts Jurgen Klopp’s side within one win of securing 1st place in the Group Stage, which would send them straight through into the Round of 16.
Today we’re going to be taking a look at three of the standout performers for the Reds in the 5-1 victory and looking at the numbers behind their performances.
Ryan Gravenberch
My Man of the Match from the victory, Gravenberch kept up his fantastic run of form with another stunning performance against Toulouse.
The 21-year-old has everything you would want from a midfielder, whether it be his strong physical presence or his fantastic ball control and range of passing.
Below you can see some of the statistics behind the Dutchman’s brilliant performance:
Gravenberch v Toulouse:
- Key passes- 4
- Passes completed- 26
- Pass completion- 96%
- Key dribbles- 7
- Key interceptions- 3
- Shots- 4
- Goals- 1
In total, Gravenberch completed 19 key actions across the 70 minutes he was on the pitch for, averaging at a key action almost every three minutes.
Wataru Endo
30-year-old Wataru Endo put in a fantastic performance at the base of Jurgen Klopp’s midfield in the victory against Toulouse and even scored his first goal for the Reds with a fantastic header.
But that goal was just the icing on the cake in terms of Endo’s overall performance, which saw him boss the midfield defensively from start to finish.
His quality on the ball was world class at times, with his passing in between the lines often being timed to perfection.
Below you can see some of the statistics behind Endo’s performance:
Endo v Toulouse:
- Key Passes- 2
- Passes completed- 66
- Pass completion- 96%
- Duels won- 11/15 (More than anyone on the pitch)
- Ball recoveries- 4
- Interceptions- 3
- Tackles- 5
The Japan captain will undoubtedly be looking to receive some minutes in some of the Premier League games over the festive period after his recent impressive performances in the League Cup and the Europa League.
With the current injury problems with Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic, Endo is certainly the next in line behind Alexis Mac Allister for upcoming games.
Darwin Nunez
There was a few players to choose from for the third mention, with the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip and Diogo Jota all impressing.
However, the overall link-up play from Nunez was at times unstoppable and you could really see the confidence vibrating off him particularly in the first hour.
The Uruguayan of course got himself on the scoresheet and undoubtedly should’ve scored at least two more in the game.
Below are some of the statistics from Nunez’s performance:
Nunez v Toulouse:
- Shots- 4
- Shots on target- 2
- Goals- 1
- Successful dribbles- 4
- Completed passes- 22
- Pass completion- 95%
Nunez has always been a goal scoring threat, but his major criticism last year was his overall footballing ability and intelligence.
However, that has come on massively in the early stages of this year whilst still maintaining a world-class level of output for club and country.
The number nine now has 14 goal contributions already this season, and will be looking to continue his fantastic form as we head into the busy festive period.
