Liverpool suffered another frustrating afternoon as they played out a 0-0 draw with Stoke City, with Jurgen Klopp‘s rotated side misfiring.
The Reds lined up with five changes from their 5-2 win over AS Roma last time out, with Joe Gomez, Alberto Moreno, Ragnar Klavan, Georginio Wijnaldum and Danny Ings all brought in.
Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were among those retained, though Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Sadio Mane missed out as the latest injury absentees.
The Egyptian King almost broke the deadlock within five minutes, but skewed his effort wide, and Liverpool were ultimately held in a drab clash at Anfield.
Firmino was one of few to perform to a reasonably high standard, with Gomez and Ings particularly poor on another day that highlighted the lack of depth in Klopp’s squad.
But what did journalists and statisticians make of the Reds’ latest Premier League draw?
Below we compare our ratings with those of the Liverpool Echo, the Independent, Sky Sports, ESPN, The Anfield Wrap, Anfield Index, The Redmen TV and WhoScored:
It is little surprise to see both Gomez (5.1) and Ings (5.2) average such low ratings, such was the lack of positive influence on the game.
Nor is it a shock that Salah (5.7) is deemed the third-worst player for the Reds on Saturday, with the No. 11 enduring one of his quieter afternoons in a Liverpool shirt.
There is not much to distinguish the rest of the squad, who are largely given moderate ratings, with Virgil van Dijk (6.5) the standout performer followed by Wijnaldum (6.4) and Firmino (6.4).
Klavan (6.3), making his third start for the club this month, was considered similarly impressive, to an extent vindicating Klopp’s pre-match assertion that he deserves a new contract.
The only Liverpool player to be given a rating over seven out of 10 by any publication was Trent Alexander-Arnold, with The Anfield Wrap’s Ben Johnson lauding his display in a new role.
Interestingly, Gomez was the only player to be rated at over seven out of 10 on a statistical basis, with the 20-year-old making more tackles (three) than any other player and creating the second-most chances (two).
Ings and Salah were also the lowest-rated by WhoScored, with their inability to make an impact in the final third clear, as the former’s disallowed goal was the only shot on target between them.
It is telling that only Alexander-Arnold and substitute Nathaniel Clyne managed to fire an accurate attempt on goal over the course of the 90 minutes, with Stoke’s rearguard efforts paying off.
Klopp will restore his heavy-hitters for Wednesday night’s trip to Stadio Olimpico, and he will be hoping that their response is similar to the first leg at Anfield.
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