Jordan Henderson and Joe Gomez were the standouts as Liverpool endured a two-hour battle to beat Flamengo 1-0 and clinch the Club World Cup.
The Reds were forced to fight for their title in Qatar, as an inept referee and a wily opposition contrived to deny the European champions a route to victory.
But Jurgen Klopp‘s side ultimately sealed their status as world champions when Roberto Firmino latched onto Sadio Mane‘s turn and pass and fired beyond Diego Alves in extra time.
It was a hit-and-miss performance from Liverpool, and one soured by the second-half injury to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, but one that earned a third trophy in 2019.
So who shone brightest on a big night in Doha?
Here we compare our player ratings with those from the Liverpool Echo, the Mirror, the Independent, ESPN, WhoScored and the TIA readers.
The joint-top prize went to Henderson (7.8) and Gomez (7.8), who were robust and resolute in their efforts in midfield and defence respectively.
It was the captain’s pass which set Mane through to eventually tee up the winner, and the Echo‘s Ian Doyle described his contribution as “outstanding.”
Doyle added on Gomez: “Impressively assured after the interval, the Flamengo attack barely having a sniff.”
Close behind the Englishmen was the goalscorer, Firmino (7.7), with ESPN’s Nick Judd lauding “a case of third-time lucky” after his pair of missed opportunities either side of half-time.
Both Mohamed Salah (6.6) and Naby Keita (6.4) were less positively rated, along with Oxlade-Chamberlain (5.7), whose second-half withdrawal came after a mixed display in midfield.
Statistically the standouts came in defence, with Gomez receiving the highest rating from WhoScored for his no-nonsense approach, also having recorded more touches than any other player (117).
Trent Alexander-Arnold was next-best in terms of numbers, having created the joint-most chances for the Reds along with Salah (three), and making the most successful tackles (five).
Klopp’s first-choice back line is required to make a swift recovery, as Leicester are the next challenge in the Premier League, with Liverpool heading to the King Power on Boxing Day.
The Foxes lost 3-1 at Man City on Saturday, which means the Reds are still 10 points clear at the top with a game in hand.
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