Adrian caught the eye in Liverpool’s 2-0 victory at Preston as one of only a handful of standouts in the eyes of the media, as the Reds got the job done with little fanfare.
Jurgen Klopp‘s men were looking to reach the quarter-finals of the League Cup on Wednesday night as they made the trip to Deepdale in a competitive match for the first time since 2009.
Liverpool did exactly that, never producing the most eye-catching of performances but eventually getting the job done.
Goals from Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi sealed the win – the latter’s strike was sensational in its execution – as Klopp’s side made it into the last-eight for the fourth time under his tutelage.
Here we compare our player ratings with those from the Liverpool Echo, The Redmen TV, FotMob and the TIA readers.
The highest-ranking performance on the night was Adrian (7.6), who impressed in the absence of both Alisson and Caoimhin Kelleher.
While the Spaniard didn’t have a huge amount to do at Deepdale, he made one superb first-half save that crucially prevented Preston from taking the lead.
TIA claimed that Adrian‘s throwing of the ball was “nice and quick”, allowing Liverpool to build attacks in a swift fashion.
He was also crowned as the TIA’s readers’ Man of the Match on the night, receiving a 7.8 rating from our readers in what was his first appearance since February.
In second place was Neco Williams (7.5), who was the catalyst for both goals despite being credited with only one assist, and showed that he can be a capable deputy to Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Ian Doyle of the Echo hailed a “good block on the line” from the Welshman, who received a nice blow to the face for his trouble, adding that his “persistence” helped create the goals.
Closing out the top three was Curtis Jones (6.9), with Ross from The Redmen TV saying he “turned into Ronaldinho for a few seconds” at one point.
Meanwhile FotMob noted that the 20-year-old enjoyed an 86 percent pass completion rate, as well as playing one key pass.
According to the overall ratings, Liverpool’s poorest performer was deemed to be debutant Harvey Blair (5.3), but that’s overly harsh.
The teenager should be hugely proud of representing the Reds at this level – it’s something we’ve all dreamed of for our whole lives, without ever achieving!
Liverpool’s next assignment sees them return to Anfield for the first time since October 3 as Brighton make the trip in the Premier League in a traditional Saturday afternoon kickoff at 3pm.
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