Liverpool saw off Man United in an intense game during which a number of players stepped up to the plate, and all ran until the end.
Liverpool 2-0 Man United
Premier League, Anfield
January 19, 2020
Goals: Van Dijk 14′, Salah 90+3′
Alisson – 9 (out of 10)
Assist of the season for Salah’s goal at the end.
Always on hand to sweep up and controls all of his area.
Spent most of the second half doing shuttle runs around 20 yards out of his area to keep warm, but was called upon to save a difficult shot from Fred which was moving in the air, also collecting more easily from an Andreas Pereira effort.
Sent in a good corner for Van Dijk to meet to open the scoring.
Threw the ball to Fred which led to one of Man United‘s few good chances. Received a telling off from Henderson shortly after.
Some good crosses into dangerous areas, and a pass to Mane late on set up a good opportunity.
Joe Gomez – 8
Stepped up well to stop attacks and made a number of defensive interventions.
Won three aerial duels, made three interceptions, and hardly misplaced a pass.
Virgil van Dijk – 9 – Man of the Match
Had to deal with a few things defensively early on, before going forward at a corner, towering above Brandon Williams and Harry Maguire to head the opening goal.
Makes some things look so easy that they almost pass without comment, but was imperious at the back, and made some important headers late on.
Andrew Robertson – 7
Had to deal with the pacy Daniel James, meaning he was one of the most tested Liverpool players, and didn’t do too badly.
Made a good tackle on the Welshman early on when it looked like he was through, and that set the tone.
Jordan Henderson – 9
Ran and ran in both attack and defence.
A left-footed effort was tipped onto the post by De Gea just as it looked like it would settle in the side-netting.
Some really good passing. Looks a lot more aware of what’s around him and especially ahead of him these days since that spell further forward.
Nutmeg on Fred then nicked the ball of him shortly after. The Brazilian will be seeing a number 5 when he closes his eyes tonight.
Great finish in the first half but had strayed offside. Made a good pass to set up Mane.
Made some good driving forward runs, and was always in good positions to pick up second balls or passes.
Made five tackles – more than any other player on the pitch,
Had once decent effort from outside the area saved by De Gea, and was substituted late on much to his disappointment.
Mohamed Salah – 8
Rounded off the win with a well-taken goal in second-half injury time.
Worked really hard in defence against Williams, Maguire, and Shaw.
Played a well-weighted pass to Mane to produce a good chance near the end of the first half, but should have scored from Robertson’s cross but scuffed the shot.
Roberto Firmino – 7
Executed a brilliant finish, curling a shot past De Gea, but it was disallowed for a foul on De Gea by Van Dijk earlier in the move.
Sent Wan Bissaka flying to the turf with a great bit of skill. The right-back doesn’t let many past him, but Firmino is something else.
Sadio Mane – 7
Will be disappointed not to have added his name to the scoresheet.
Had a shot saved by De Gea towards the end of the first half, and was presented with a good chance when slid through by Wijnaldum but couldn’t get enough on his shot which dribbled past the far post. Might have squared to Salah or Firmino too.
Flick to Firmino from Alexander-Arnold’s pass late in the game was almost perfect.
Substitutes
Adam Lallana (on for Oxlade-Chamberlain, 66′) – 6
Fabinho (on for Mane, 83′) – N/A
Divock Origi (on for Firmino, 83′) – N/A
Manager
Jurgen Klopp – 9
Can do no wrong at the moment. The tactics of his opposite number Ole Gunnar Solskjaer caused problems at times, but not enough to stop Klopp’s red machine.
The introduction of Lallana didn’t quite have the desired effect, but it didn’t matter in the end.
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