Liverpool picked up a nerve-shredding 2-1 win away to Fulham on Sunday, with few Reds players standing out at Craven Cottage.
Jurgen Klopp‘s side headed to west London buoyant after their victory at Bayern Munich in midweek, but it became a tougher afternoon than initially expected.
Sadio Mane‘s 11th goal in as many matches sent Liverpool on their way to a seemingly easy win, only for ex-Red Ryan Babel to pounce after a mistake by Alisson and Virgil van Dijk.
Mane was fouled by Fulham goalkeeper Sergio Rico with 10 minutes remaining and substitute James Milner converted calmly from the penalty spot.
It was a hard-earned three points but a victory nonetheless—Liverpool have returned to the top of the Premier League by two points.
Here we compare our player ratings with those from the Liverpool Echo, the Mirror, the Independent, Sky Sports, The Redmen TV, FotMob and the This Is Anfield readers.
Man-of-the-moment Mane (8.0) was comfortably Liverpool’s highest-rated player on the day, as he found the net yet again.
There are few more in-form wide players in Europe at the moment and he is producing big moments on a consistent basis.
This is Anfield’s Joel Rabinowitz hailed “yet another decisive contribution”, while others around him struggled to find top gear.
The Independent‘s Jack Pitt-Brooke asked if the Senegalese is “the most dangerous player in the world” at the moment, highlighting the impact he is having.
It was hard to find other Reds players who found anywhere close to their best level, although Andy Robertson (7.0) was always a threat down the left flank.
Ross from The Redmen TV felt the 25-year-old offered “loads of overlaps, loads of crosses and some intelligent play”, while the Mirror‘s John Cross described him as “unstoppable”.
It wasn’t a good day for the imperious Virgil van Dijk (6.0), however, who produced one of his few errors of the season at Craven Cottage.
Rabinowitz concluded that “he is human, after all”, although FotMob did still highlight that the Dutchman won six duels and four aerial battles.
It was another frustrating day for Mohamed Salah (5.8), who looks so hellbent on scoring his 50th Premier League goal that it is almost becoming unhealthy.
Liverpool’s No.11 was the lowest-rated outfield player—Alisson earned an average of just 5.6—and Doyle said he was “often greedy when in good positions”.
Klopp’s men now have a two-week break before their next fixture, with Tottenham up next at Anfield on March 31.
There is a painful international break to endure before then; here’s hoping that Liverpool’s players return fit and firing ahead of the Premier League title run-in.
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