Nat Phillips produced a superb performance on his Premier League debut for Liverpool, as the Reds won 2-1 at home to West Ham.
The Hammers made the trip to Anfield on Saturday evening, in what had the potential to be an awkward game for the champions.
Once again, Liverpool found themselves 1-0 down early on, as Pablo Fornals profited from a poor header from Joe Gomez, finishing well past Alisson.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men were level shortly before half-time, though, as Mohamed Salah picked himself up after being fouled by Arthur Masuaku, firing home from the penalty spot.
Liverpool improved as the game went on, and after having a goal ruled out by VAR, substitute Dioga Jota stroked home the winner with time running out.
The win puts the Reds top of the Premier League table for the time being, although Everton can reach the summit again with a win at Newcastle on Sunday.
Here we compare our player ratings with those from the Liverpool Echo, the Mirror, BBC Sport, FotMob and the TIA readers.
Remarkably, it was Phillips (7.5) who got the highest average rating, on what ended up being a memorable occasion for the Premier League debutant.
He was under huge pressure to perform in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, Fabinho and Joel Matip, but he passed with flying colours.
TIA’s Henry Jackson gave Phillips the Man of the Match award, praising his aerial ability, and in particular, a “crucial stoppage-time header” from a corner.
Highlighting his quality in the air, FotMob pointed out that the 23-year-old won five of his aerial duels, also making nine clearances in total.
In joint-second place were Gini Wijnaldum (7.2) and Salah (7.2), both of whom contributed in their own priceless manner.
Ian Doyle of the Echo felt Wijnaldum “became a greater threat in attack” as the minutes drifted by, while the Mirror‘s Andy Dunn hailed his “prodigious work-rate.”
Salah, meanwhile, won and scored the penalty that allowed Liverpool to equalise and Jackson concluded that he was “again superior to Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.”
Roberto Firmino (5.5) was comfortably seen as the poorest Reds player on the night, as his below-par form continues.
Doyle thought he “faded badly after the break,” Dunn bemoaned him having “no serious influence on the game” and Jackson believes “it’s time for him to be dropped.”
Liverpool don’t have much rest before their next outing, making the trip to Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
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