OH European nights, how I’ve missed you. The lights, the songs, the inexplicably terrible officiating that almost makes you pine for the grandiose ‘Blue Steel’ pout of Mike Dean.
That and The Reds winning again.
Could have done without three individual brainfarts from the back four letting Hoffenheim get a goal back, but in reality it changes very little. They still need to score twice or more at Anfield and stop us from bothering their net.
So here’s the first of what will hopefully be many Champions League match ratings.
Simon Mignolet: 7
Steven Gerrard made a very good point at half time. The penalty save may look simple, but it’s made simple by Mignolet reading the taker, as he often does so well. Most ‘keepers just dive and hope, and in that case it looks like a “cool and calm” penalty. Not The Mig, he stays up and palms it away at a crucial moment. Could have been more commanding on occasion but overall had a much better game than Saturday.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 8
Who put the ball in the German net? Who put the ball in the German net? Who put the ball in the German net? Trent Alexander-Arnold.
What a hit son, and way to make us stop panicking about who is going to take our set pieces if Phil Coutinho leaves. Not just the brash and ballsy brilliance of wanting to take the kick, insisting he take the kick and absolutely bossing the kick, but his overall game was calm, assured and effective. Was guilty of being too preoccupied with persuading the assistant ref to put his flag up than actually trying to stop Mark Uth (Robert’s brother?) from scoring, but otherwise was excellent.
Joel Matip: 7
Not sure how this one will go down but I thought Matip was very good. Like Saturday he didn’t get much protection from his midfield, but his positioning and calmness allowed Trent to get forward whenever he wanted. He won a lot of headers, made plenty of interceptions and was generally good with the ball. Like Trent he could do better with the goal, but he was a completely different Matip from the weekend. Hopefully he can keep this up because he was getting very little in the way of help from…
Dejan Lovren: 5
The Croat struggled badly more or less all game, and was the one playing Uth onside at the end. Sandro Wagner beat him to everything, which is why the striker seemed to stick on him rather than Matip all game. Incidentally I’m not sure what it was, possibly the moustache, but doesn’t Wagner look like a comic book villain? He definitely has some sort of underground lair somewhere, and hired goons.
I thought Lovren was a bit unfortunate with the penalty. Serge Gnabry seemed to be offside and then it was one of those fouls where you wonder how Lovren is supposed to get out of the way, but Mignolet saved it anyway. He also needed to do better with the two attacking headers he won from corners.
Alberto Moreno: 7
Another decent performance from Albie. The Spaniard didn’t start too well as he got too easily beat in one instance, then was caught way out of position for the penalty, but otherwise was fine. Offered a really useful outlet at times, was calm in possession and made a couple of vital blocks. It will be interesting to see how much he’s going to be used this season, not least for Andrew Robertson, who must be a tad confused.
Jordan Henderson: 6
Still doesn’t seem quite there for him. Was getting about the pitch more than Saturday but his touch still seems off. He miscontrolled in bad areas in the first half and failed to protect Matip or Lovren much. Improved in the second but then came off on the hour mark. Slowly but surely I’m sure he’ll get back to normal, but think we could do with another slightly more defensive-minded lad in there (though not sure Jürgen Klopp agrees).
Emre Can: 7
I liked Can’s performance. He was getting about the pitch well, covering a lot of ground quickly and was often the one in there making crucial tackles, and fouls when necessary. He was unlucky when he got booked as it meant he had to calm that side down, but he still got in the way of things. Helped Henderson more than he had done at Watford, so fair play to him for that.
Gini Wijnaldum: 6
Another off night for Gini, though he did also improved second half. His touch was horrendous in the first, he didn’t seem to be able to control the ball no matter how much time or space he had. He specialises in ghosting into the box, but needs to stop ghosting around the midfield as well. I’m still not certain what his actual role in the team is, and from the way he’s started the season, I’m not sure he is either. He did improve though as I said, and started a few counter attacks in the second half, including being alert to take the quick free kick that lead to the second goal.
Sadio Mane: 8
Another excellent showing from the Senegalese star. When Julian Nagelsmann’s side were dominating periods in the first half, Mane was the out ball, and he did brilliantly with it, either drawing fouls, starting attacks or just keeping the ball so we could recover and reposition. He did so well to set up the chance for Roberto Firmino early in the second half, and was unlucky to come away without at least one assist (though winning the foul for the free kick might count).
Mohamed Salah: 6
A similar performance to the Watford game for Mo. Again his pace and timing of run got him into some excellent positions, but his final ball and decision making was off. As I said on Saturday, once it clicks there will be no stopping him, but he’s perhaps just a shade guilty of overthinking things at the moment. A hat trick against Crystal Palace will cure that right up.
Roberto Firmino: 6.5
An odd performance from Firmino. Overall it was mostly fine, he did what he does well, though he could have held the ball up a bit better in the first half. He did win it back on several occasions though and started attacks, particularly after they started to tire in the second half. He loses half a point for that miss after Mane’s great work. One of those moments where you wish we had a proper “nine” up there, but then he goes and runs 40 yards to win the ball back and you’re reminded why he’s actually there in the first place.
SUBS
James Milner: 7
Millie did better than I expected, to be honest. Hoffenheim were playing at a good pace, starting to threaten again and I feared that Milner’s lack of pace was going to be exploited. Quite the contrary, he took advantage of their tiring midfield with his runs, and he did brilliantly for the second goal. He was lucky with the deflection, but if you don’t buy a ticket and all that.
Dominic Solanke: N/A
I’m making it a point not to give a score for anyone who comes on with less than 10 minutes left, as that’s fairly ludicrous, but big Dom did well. He put pressure on defenders, kept them pinned back late on and even helped with some defensive work. Glad to see Klopp isn’t afraid to use him in such an important game.
Marko Grujic: N/A
Was just hoping he didn’t come on, leather someone and get sent off. There is an element of Jonjo Shelvey about Grujic, but he did put in a great block on Kerem Demirbay near the end when Shelvey probably would have kicked him in the balls and spat on his knee.
Up the European away-winning Reds.
READ: Hoffenheim 1 Liverpool 2: The Final Whistle
READ: Hoffenheim 1 Liverpool 2: Match Review
LISTEN: Hoffenheim 1 Liverpool 2: The Post-Match Show
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Oh My God -What game were you watching?
lost count of how many times Moreno was caught out of position.
Should have got a 2 and that would be generous.
Moreno on a 7?
You nuts?!
Not having that at all.
This is his 4th season with us and he’s still making the same mistakes.
Being caught outta position, defending on the wrong side of his man.
There’s no way we can go thru the season with him and Lovren on the left side of our defence.
Absolutely. Moreno a liability tonight. No idea positionally, just clueless. Maybe a 7 for him and Lovren combined. Better opposition would’ve scored 3 or 4 against us.
Hi Darren, Michael, tbf towards Moreno he just can’t defend. We know this so I don’t slate him for it, I slate Klopp for not fucking getting that he can’t defend, in addition to persisting with that knobhead Lovren.
Can’t argue with that.
Klopp couldn’t sort a defence if you paid him. O wait there! we do pay him. Sort the defence you big gormless twat
Spot on… he’s an absolute liability at the back. Has the footballing brain of a 7 year old. Would be absolutely fine with him playing wing back with 3 at the back
Yep, can’t believe he’s back in the team. He does give us plenty going forward, but in exchange he reduces the whole defence to quivering incompetence. And significantly reduces my pleasure in watching the game. The kid scares me. Sell him to Man United immediately.
Hendo and Gini just lacking sharpness. Will improve. Trent really exciting. Cannot get over that goal. The confidence and the skill. Would have settled for 2.1 win beforehand. Good performance and result.
Bit tough on Migs 8 for me. Firmino the kind of players , players like but not a centre forward for me. Gini as predicted by Geordies sometimes goes missing way. Henderson struggling foe whatever reason.
Emre an 8 for me strong physical performance with some great control under pressure . Mane I would friggin hate to play against him, on another level.
Gini was absolute gash.
Don’t always agree with you, but I’m loving your Match Ratings. Keep up the good work and the fume will keep on coming.
think we looked better when hendo came off and can dropped back. think he gives more cover.
hendo looked off the pace. still a bit injured? millie ought to start in the meantime.
imo the only true cause for real concern is the shutting off before the game is won. was a problem last year, so has it been this year. defence can improve (hopefully). the mentality must.
Defence won’t improve until the almighty kLOPP shakes Sakhos hand and moves on.
Defence is bad at best. Lovren and Matip are shocking
As Moreno has no right foot whatsoever, his shape when passing / defending is always askew. Hence he plays ‘poor’ passes constantly. To give him a 7 tonight is generous at best. Other than that, a decent night in Europe to which, I’m sure, many opponents wouldn’t want to be facing our front 3. Get the midfield balance sorted, new personnel in the defence and we have a chance both domestically and in Europe.
Great Jonjo Shelvey shout
Moreno 7?
LOL at Moreno scoring a higher mark than Firmino and Salah. Off to build Beansie a ramp now.
lovern,bye,gini were are you.defence,shambloic,needs sorting@QUICK
No way 7 for Moreno overall, yes maybe 7 for attacking, hopeless, lost in defence. If we want to keep him move him forward and play him as attacking on wing as sub obv. Keep up the good work on reviews tho.
Moreno a 3 at best; watching on TV David? You can’t have been there, he was out of position more than he was in, and we are better off with 10 men than playing him. Also way too generous with ratings generally – thought we were all over the shop for 30 minutes. Good read though, albeit mostly fiction; thIs should be Non-fiction!
out of curiosity – what position was he supposed to be in? What was the instruction for the back unit and what positions were they supposed to be in at any given time?
does Matip look better because he has a taller, better positioned full-back next to him or does Trent look better because he has a solid centre covering him? As with most things, it’s probably a bit of both.
On the flip side i can’t help but feel Lovren would be a lot more comfortable with a more disciplined fullback and Moreno’s deficiencies would be covered by a… well, better centre-back. Not exactly a match made in heaven there.
Agree with most of these, but I don’t know how you can rate Moreno over 5! Sure, he did alright in some advanced positions but in defence he was diabolical. Always out of position, easily beaten by attacking players. He’s nowhere near good enough.
if he is always out of position, how did he keep getting beat by attacking players? Just wondering….
-Moreno is around to keep Coutinho happy. He’s playing with the kids as soon as Robertson is fit.
-I’ll be gutted if Can signs a pre-contract on a Bosman this winter. Annoying how overrated he was for much of his time here, but he is slowly growing into the player we knew he would be. Slowly, but still.
-I really took a shine to Gini, much like Allen, but at times his role seems even more quietly amorphous than Allen’s version of footballing that at times verged on a Brian Eno album. I was even a little pleased to see Grujic, if only because what he does is very, very obvious.
-Firmino strikes me as a bit of Lallana, definitely class but I wonder if he couldn’t do those same things from deeper to make room for a goal-scorer.
-I’d give Salah an extra point for being a constant nuisance and because he was perfectly positioned to nod in Milner’s original cross.
Hi Walter, I like your idea of Firmino deeper to allow Solanke or a fit striker as Firmino has vision and also defends from the front. I think Moreno as much as we ALL Except Klopp knows he’s bad at defending should be trained as a winger to come on as a sub.
I agree with You and Newcastle fans about him turning up or going missing most of the time.
And Grujic should replace Henderson as Henderson injury or fitness wise is being hampered and even when fit he offered nothing like what Stevie G did.
The rest of defense Klopp needs to do his job and earn his 7 million properly as does Edwards.
Salah will come good like Mane in time.
Hi Dave a lot of passion exhibited on these evaluations as expected. Overall I I thought you did a good job. Moreno, up against their best attacker gave him very little and blocked him most of the time. He is clearly working on his defensive skills, ok he has a distance to go but he rarely gets left in anyones dust and his peed up front really compliments Mane. Mig I thought has grown into a dependable stopper, much more confident in his area would have rated him an 8. Disappointed in Gini, Lovren, Salah, Firmino but as you have indicated they will do better. Overall a sound evaluation for my money.
Good ratings, but far too generous to Lovren and Henderson. Both were shocking. 3 and 4 out of 10 respectively.