PARIS, FRANCE - Wednesday, November 28, 2018: Liverpool's Sadio Mane during the UEFA Champions League Group C match between Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool FC at Parc des Princes. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

PSG 2-1 Liverpool: Player Ratings – What the media and statistics say

Few Liverpool players deserved to escape criticism after a brittle showing led to a 2-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Reds arrived in Paris needing victory to effectively ensure progress to the last 16 of Europe’s top-tier tournament, but left having suffered a humbling defeat.

Goals from Juan Bernat and Neymar were enough to seal the three points for the hosts, with James Milner‘s first-half penalty serving as a mere consolation.

While Jurgen Klopp and his players focused on the unsportsmanlike conduct of the PSG players—and the ineptitude of the referee—after the game, the reality is Liverpool weren’t up to task.

The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Dejan Lovren, Jordan Henderson, Gini Wijnaldum, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino all struggled, with Alisson the only true standout.

But what did journalists, statisticians and fans make of the Reds’ performance at the Parc des Princes?

Below we compare our ratings with those of the Liverpool Echo, L’Equipe, Sky Sports, ESPN, Anfield Index, FotMob and the This is Anfield readers:

Unsurprisingly, Alisson (7.0) was the only player to receive an above-average rating, with the Brazilian making a series of vital saves to preserve a respectable scoreline.

Andy Robertson (6.1) and Milner (6.0) were the best of the rest, with the Liverpool Echo‘s Ian Doyle describing the latter as “the only visiting midfielder to consistently do his bit.”

Lovren (5.0), Van Dijk (5.3) and Joe Gomez (5.3) were all rated relatively moderately, with the rest of Klopp’s starting lineup faring even more miserably.

Henderson (4.5) and Wijnaldum (4.3) were deservedly rated the worst on the night, with ESPN’s Glenn Price concluding that “the fact [Wijnaldum] was the first player in red to be substituted was not at all surprising.”

The This is Anfield readers were particularly critical of Henderson, with an abject display following up a mindless red card at Watford last time out in the Premier League.

And for French publication L’Equipe, Gomez, Wijnaldum and Salah were the most disappointing, with only Milner considered to have impressed.

PARIS, FRANCE - Wednesday, November 28, 2018: Liverpool's players line-up for a team group photograph before the UEFA Champions League Group C match between Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool FC at Parc des Princes. Back row L-R: goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino, Dejan Lovren, Joe Gomez, Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah. Front row L-R: James Milner, Georginio Wijnaldum, captain Jordan Henderson, Andy Robertson, Sadio Mane. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Statistically, Milner and Mane were the standouts, but more surprising is that FotMob have deemed Henderson the third-best Liverpool player on the night.

The captain made more ball recoveries than any of Klopp’s other outfielders (eight), while completing 58 of his attempted 65 passes (89%).

Van Dijk was the worst-rated, having conceded the most fouls (three) and losing as many duels as he won (five), with the Dutchman enduring a rare off-night on the big stage.

Liverpool have little time to reflect on this frustrating performance, as Everton arrive for the Merseyside derby on Sunday, and Klopp will be eager for a response from his side at Anfield.

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