Manchester United vs Liverpool: Player Ratings

After a tough afternoon losing 2-1 to Man Utd I have been tasked with the player ratings. Below are my ratings and the reason why. Loris Karius 6 There was little he could do about both goals as the first one was a great finish from Rashford and the second one took a slight deflection but he still wouldn’t have saved it. He has improved massively over the last few games and put in some great performances to lead the Reds to 3 points so hopefully today’s defeat doesn’t see him lose some of that confidence.  Trent Alexander-Arnold 5 A very tough afternoon for the 19-year-old after he was put against Marcus Rashford and was at fault for both of the goals really. He is still learning and growing as a player so you can’t moan about him too much but he should be dealing with both situations better. Dejan Lovren 5 Up against Romelu Lukaku today, it was always going to be a tough game but he was dominated by the forward especially in the first half and switch off for both goals. He had formed a great partnership with van Dijk against Newcastle and other games so I was happy to see him in the starting line-up but he just wasn’t on the ball today (literally). Virgil Van Dijk 5 In a similar position to Lovren, up against Lukaku, but I hoped he would have been able to deal with certain situations better. He had two clear chances to score from a corner in the first-half and both chance went wide. He’s put in some dominating displays this season and has made our defence better but today just wasn’t his day. Andy Robertson 7 Robertson put in another solid display as he has done over the last few weeks. He was able to cope with anything that came his way today and also offered a lot going forward as usual. He was Liverpool’s best defensive performer. Emre Can 6 Usually so reliable in midfield, he started the game off with a lot of possession and was travelling forward looking to create a chance for the team but it just wouldn’t happen. At times he was dominated in midfield by McTominay and Matic but was still looking to create opportunities. James Milner 6 I said in my article mid-week that I would have liked Milner to play today because of how experienced he is and he has been putting in some solid midfielder performances of late but I felt he lacked creativity today. He couldn’t pick out the right pass or put in a good cross for the front three with united defence stopping everything. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain 5.5 A frustrating afternoon for the midfielder. After getting back to his best in previous games he never had the chance to get going in this one. Towards the end of the second half and the first 10 minutes of the second, you could see him travelling forward more and trying to create opportunities but nothing came off. He was subbed just after the hour mark for Adam Lallana. Sadio Mane 6.5 The winger is always a threat going forward with his pace, passing and shooting ability. Today he cause Valencia a few problems and put in the cross that lead to the own goal by baily but it was a frustrating afternoon for the forward with him not getting any chances to have a shot at goal. Mo Salah 5 A very frustrating afternoon for the Egyptian. Being given no opportunities to test the defence, Ashley Young did well to deal with him and keep him from causing any problems. He will want to forget this game in a hurry. Roberto Firmino 6 Normally the driving force in our front three, today he was nowhere to be seen. He offered a link between midfield and attack but had no opportunities to test Manchester United’s defence. A stifled afternoon for the Brazilian.   Subs Adam Lallana 6 Made a positive impact when he first came on but never created any clear chances for the Reds. Gini Wijnaldum 5 In a similar position as Lallana. Came on for Alexander-Arnold so it would have been tough for him to travel forward and create opportunities. Had a few chances to create an opportunity but nothing to shout about. Dominic Solanke 4 Didn’t even see him do anything when he came on, still needs to prove why he should be in this team for me.   Article by Lauren Black @LaurenBlack9 For more Redmen TV content including podcasts, subscriber exclusives and three new shows every week subscribe now and get your first month for FREE bit.ly/RMTVjoin