LUTON, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 5, 2023: Liverpool's captain Virgil van Dijk applauds the supporters after the FA Premier League match between Luton Town FC and Liverpool FC at Kenilworth Road. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Average LFC player ratings vs. Luton: Van Dijk the best of a bad bunch

No player averaged a score above seven-out-of-ten in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw away at Luton in the Premier League on Sunday, as too many were way off their usual standards.

The Reds were resounding favourites to win at Kelinworth Road on Sunday, but they found it really tough to break down their opponents.

It was a disappointing first-half performance from the visitors, even though Darwin Nunez came close to scoring a number of times, with memories of last season’s struggles against lesser teams on show.

After the break, Tahith Chong stunned Liverpool to put Luton ahead on the break – Nunez missed a sitter beforehand – before Luis Diaz equalised in stoppage time – a lovely moment during a horrible time for the Colombian.

Here we compare our player ratings with those of the Liverpool Echo, WhoScored, FotMob and This Is Anfield’s readers.

Various publications were in agreement that Virgil van Dijk (6.7) was Liverpool’s standout player at Luton, although that’s not saying a huge amount.

The skipper was the Reds’ standout defender all afternoon, holding things together at times, as he continues an excellent start to the season.

Not only did Van Dijk complete 92 percent of his passes at Kenilworth Road, according to FotMob, but he also made seven defensive actions and eight recoveries.

TIA’s Mark Delgado claimed that the Dutchman was “dominant in the air against a barrage of deliveries and long passes,” adding that he “didn’t really do anything wrong.”

Alisson (6.5) was in second place, which isn’t a good thing when Liverpool are playing Luton, and he made one big save in the second half.

LUTON, ENGLAND - Sunday, November 5, 2023: Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the pre-match warm-up before the FA Premier League match between Luton Town FC and Liverpool FC at Kenilworth Road. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Ian Doyle of the Echo thought that the 31-year-old “punched well” throughout and also had “no chance” with Chong’s opener.

Next up in the ratings was Ryan Gravenberch (6.4), who was the only Liverpool midfielder to do fairly well.

Delgado felt that he was “more inventive and forceful with his passing forward than his midfield teammates,” while Doyle added that he “at least attempted to inject some tempo” into the Reds’ game.

It wasn’t a great day at all for Alexis Mac Allister (5.0), however, who got the worst overall score, looked way off the pace and is now suspended against Brentford for his fifth yellow card of the season.

Liverpool’s next game sees them head to Toulouse for a Europa League meeting on Thursday night (5.45pm UK).