LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Friday, April 26, 2019: Liverpool's Naby Keita (C) celebrates scoring the first goal, in the first minute, with team-mates Mohamed Salah (L) and Sadio Mane (R) during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Huddersfield Town AFC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Liverpool 5-0 Huddersfield: Player Ratings – What the media and statistics say

There were various outstanding performers on Friday night as Liverpool returned to the Premier League summit after a 5-0 thrashing of Huddersfield.

Jurgen Klopp‘s side knew that victory was essential in the title race, in what on paper was their easiest game of the season.

They made it look exactly that, with Naby Keita opening the scoring after just 15 seconds and the Reds never looking back from that point onwards.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both scored twice, meaning the Liverpool duo are now second and first in the Premier League scoring charts, respectively.

The win takes Klopp’s men back to the top of the table by two points, with Man City visiting Burnley on Sunday.

Here we compare our player ratings with those from the Liverpool Echo, the Mirror, the Independent, Sky Sports, Anfield Index, FotMob and the This Is Anfield readers:

It was no surprise to see Mane (8.9) earn the highest average rating, on a night when the Senegalese sparkled.

This is Anfield’s Henry Jackson felt he was the star of the show, claiming his “darting runs and clever movement made life hell for the visitors.”

Salah(8.7), meanwhile, was lauded by the Echo‘s Ian Doyle, who thought Liverpool’s No.11 was “unplayable” on occasions.

Anfield Index’s Aaditya Narayan gave Salah a perfect 10/10 rating, as he did both Andy Robertson (8.4) and Mane, highlighting that he has “sole ownership of the driver’s seat in the Golden Boot race”, in a season when he has supposedly under-performed.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Friday, April 26, 2019: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring the fifth goal with a yoga zen pose during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Huddersfield Town AFC at Anfield. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

It was Robertson who took the bronze medal in the ratings Olympics, following another marauding performance down the left flank.

His two assists mean no defender has ever registered more than his 12 in a Premier League season, with Jackson saying the Scot is “surely one of the world’s best left-backs” currently.

Keita (7.9) was also excellent in the Reds’ midfield, as he goes from strength to strength after a difficult start to his Anfield career.

Doyle awarded him the Echo‘s Man of the Match award on an evening full of strong contenders for it, hailing his “continued impact both defensively and offensively.”

If one player struggled on the night it was Daniel Sturridge (5.7), who was comfortably the lowest-rated player and looks certain for a summer exit.

The Mirror‘s David Anderson described the striker as “off the pace”, while Narayan was left frustrated by his decision to “take extra touches of the ball.”

Next up for Liverpool is a huge occasion on Wednesday night, as they make the trip to Camp Nou to face Barcelona.

The Champions League semi-final first leg clash promises to be a thriller, with the Reds looking to take a positive result with them back to Anfield.