Player ratings: Atletico Madrid 1-0 Liverpool
Anyone else forgotten what losing felt like? Me too but last night was a very painful reminder. To say the game was a difficult watch was an understatement and I fear writing these ratings will be a similarly painful experience. Anyway, let’s get it done, I’ll try and keep it brief.
Alisson (6) – Difficult to score Alisson as he was a spectator for the majority of the game. Nothing he could do about the goal and made a crucial save to keep it at 1-0. No doubt a frustrated spectator like the rest of us.
TAA (5) – I don’t think I ever remember a game where Trent’s delivery was so poor. Two horrendous crosses in the opening minutes that flew into the crowd set the tone and there was little improvement. Set pieces were really poor too, especially given Atletico have had problems in that department this season.
Gomez (6) – Not his finest performance but that game will have been a real learning curve for Joe. Atletico’s forwards were extremely physical the whole game, yet somehow it was Joe that got booked for a nothing challenge. Did well to keep his composure through all the play acting. Tried to bring the ball out from defence a few times but was invariably fouled. Put in pretty much the only decent cross of the night too.
Van Dijk (5) – Looked uncharacteristically nervous in the opening minutes and our defence looked ropey in general all night. Caught in possession and bizarrely tried to header the ball back to Robbo when he should have looked for Alisson. Headed it out and was in the receiving end of a blast from Robbo. Wasn’t a threat in Atletico’s box either although the delivery was poor all night. A rare off day for Virgil.
Robertson (6.5) – Like the rest of the team, not his finest display and although his delivery was marginally better than Trent’s, it was still way below his usual standard. He did keep the score at 1-0 however, with an acrobatic piece of defending to deny two Atletico players waiting for a tap in and for that and because there were basically no candidates for it, Robbo is today’s McMOTM.
Fabinho (5) – Gave the ball away countless times, couple of wayward shots and you could see he was becoming frustrated with Atletico’s antics. Still feeling his way back into the side.
Henderson (6) – Tried to take some of the responsibility from Trent but his delivery wasn’t much better. Did play some nice quick, intelligent passing in our build up play though. Worryingly went off with an apparent hamstring injury which is a real worry as he’s been by far our best and most consistent midfielder this season and we could really do with him for the fight there will be in the return leg.
Wijnaldum (5) – This was another game that Gini had zero impact on. Put a shift in but had no influence on the game whatsoever. Capable of and needs to do more.
Salah (6) – Our only two decent chances of the night both fell to Salah. One he struck tamely against the defender and the other he made a mess of a free header when we finally got our delivery right. It’s in games where we don’t create a lot of chances where we miss having an instinctive finisher.
Firmino (5) – Was he playing? Kept being pulled out wide because that’s where the space was but that robbed us of any creativity through the middle and generally struggled to get involved all night.
Mane (6) – I was surprised to see Mane subbed as he and Robbo were starting to have some joy down that side and that looked the most likely area we were going to produce a goal from. I can only think he was raging in the dressing room at halftime or perhaps got involved with an Atletico player in the tunnel because a professional playing at this level shouldn’t have to be subbed at halftime because he’s on a yellow card.
Subs:
Origi (5) – Showed some nice footwork a few times but then either held on to the ball too long or chose the wrong pass. I’d like to see Origi throw his weight around a bit more in a physical game like that. He’s an absolute unit and should use that size and strength more than he does.
Ox (5) – Another player I barely noticed after he came on as he struggled to influence the game. Not an easy game to come into late though.
Milner (N/A) – We perhaps could have done with Milner’s physicality and guile from the start last night but a big ask when just back from injury.
Klopp-watch (6) – I’m sure he’ll have drilled into the players all week not to concede an early goal and within minutes, his worst fears were realised and Plan A straight out the window. Taking both Mane and Salah off however, he basically took the 1-0 defeat. I’ll reserve judgement on that until after the return leg.
Summary:
Horrible game, horrible opponent and horrible refereeing. Atletico are the epitome of everything wrong with the game. Cheating, diving, time wasting… All the dark arts turned up to the max and the referee swallowing the lot. You really need a strong referee when you’re playing an opponent like but his display last night was shocking. Hopefully we’ll have a better candidate for the return leg.
I can’t help but feel we needed an away goal. If they score at Anfield, scoring three against them is going to be a big ask and frankly, last night they looked capable of scoring every time they went forward.
Anfield will be a whole different proposition however. You could see how angry Klopp and Robbo were in their post match interviews and you know the Anfield faithful will be right up for it after the frustration of last night.
The tie is finely balanced and will either end in another famous European victory or we’ll bow out, allowing us to concentrate on setting a new Premier League points record and breaking every other record in the book so… every cloud and all that.
Anyway, as I’ve been typing this, City have beaten West Ham 2-0 and judging by West Ham’s display, I don’t think we’ve too much to worry about when we face them on Monday so here’s hoping normal service is resumed. Walk on.
Recent Comments