The Breakdown: Man City and Liverpool Play Out Exciting Draw

LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS:

MANAGER: Jurgen Klopp: 7; was the bolder of the two managers, choosing to start both Firmino and Jota at the expense of being a little more defensively solid—on paper anyway. Klopp would have been happy that Matip was fit enough to start the game, instead of handing Nat Phillips an unnecessary test against their main rivals for the title.

GK: Alisson: 6; was unlucky to see the ball in the back of the net after Jesus’ fortunate touch allowed him to equalize. It wasn’t all unlucky, however, as Kevin De Bruyne pulled his penalty wide in an uncharacteristically inaccurate effort. Alisson had gone the wrong way and wouldn’t have had a chance to save had it not been off target.

CB: Joe Gomez: 6; was extremely fortunate not to be punished for his VAR handball. All VAR controversy aside, Gomez really shouldn’t have had his hands in that position as it’s becoming fairly commonplace these days to give those inadvertent handballs as penalties. Other than his close call, defended and passed the ball well.

CB: Joël Matip: 7; will be pleased to be back in the lineup and playing in big games like these. Did his job in the first half with little to no fuss and didn’t appear rusty after a few weeks on the treatment table. Typically dominant in the air and kept the ball well.

LB: Andy Robertson: 6; provided good defensive cover against some tough opponents on City’s right side. Wasn’t his sparkling best going forward, however. He’ll be relieved that Liverpool didn’t repeat their performance from this fixture last season.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold: 6; unlucky that Gabriel Jesus’ touch off De Bruyne’s ball took him completely out of the play and allowed City to equalize. Injury was added to insult when he pulled up lame and was substituted in the 62nd minute. Klopp will hope it’s minor and that he won’t have another crucial player fall prey to the injury bug.

CM: Georginio Wijnaldum: 6; although he was typically solid in tight areas and good in possession, didn’t do enough going forward. It seemed as though Klopp had given pretty clear instructions to both midfielders to stay disciplined and avoid giving up space on the counter. Had a crucial intervention in the second half to dispossess Sterling who had the ball in a dangerous area.

CM: Jordan Henderson: 6; put in the hard yards in a good game. A game like this call for leadership and Henderson always delivers in that respect. He just wasn’t as influential going forward as he would have wanted to be.

AMR: Diogo Jota: 6; did quite well early in the game to find space and get on the ball. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the same sharpness he had against Atalanta, otherwise, he may have had another hat-trick. Struggled to get into the game in the second half, like most of his teammates.

AMC: Roberto Firmino: 6; Had a good start to the game and got involved well. Unfortunately for him, he faded as the game went on. Substitute for Xherdan Shaqiri in the 60th minute.

AML: Sadio Mané: 7; did really well to earn the penalty that gave Liverpool the early lead. The classy turn left Walker with no choice but to make a rash challenge. Mane was well and truly up for this match and looked very sharp in the first 45. The batteries looked quite drained, even though Mane was Liverpool’s most consistent threat until the end.

ST: Mohamed Salah: 7; dispatched his penalty with great composure, in keeping with his excellent penalty record at Liverpool. He looked very dangerous on the counter on account of his blistering pace. He’ll be pleased with another goal, although he would have hoped for a more influential second half.

Subs:

AMC: Xherdan Shaqiri: 6; Came on in the 60th minute for Firmino. Struggled with the declining pace of play, and had to spend more time defending than orchestrating the attack.

RB: James Milner: N/A; Came on the for injured Alexander-Arnold in the 62nd minute. Did his job as Mr. Versatile and Mr. Reliable.