Liverpool and West Brom play out goalless stalemate.
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Brendan Rodgers sprung a couple of surprises in his starting eleven, naming volatile striker Mario Balotelli in his stating eleven for the first time in more than a month and dropping the in-form Joe Allen to the subs bench.
Captain-in-waiting Jordan Henderson lined up in centre midfield after signing a new 5-year deal in midweek, while Steven Gerrard kept his place alongside him as he continues the countdown towards his Anfield exit.
GK: Simon Mignolet – 7
Mignolet had never kept a clean sheet against West Brom, but changed that today. Quiet but assured performance.
LWB: Glen Johnson – 6
Showed all the reasons why Liverpool fans will be glad to see the back of him this summer. Almost let Berahino open the scoring after a dreadful first half error.
CB: Martin Skrtel – 7
Easily Liverpool’s best defender – calm, composed, and rarely troubled.
CB: Dejan Lovren – 8
Looks more settled with each passing week. Passing remains poor but his confidence is slowly returning. Made a vital clearance off the line in the second half.
CB: Emre Can – 7
Yet another assured performance from the big German. Mopped up well and offered Liverpool an excellent outlet from defence.
RWB: Jordan Ibe – 7
From the first whistle he had a directness and drive to his play. Faded as the game went on but should be a huge player for Liverpool next season. Hit the bar in the second half.
CM: Steven Gerrard (c) – 6
This was Gerrard’s 500th Premier League game, only Jamie Carragher and Ryan Giggs have played more. Tackled brilliantly, distributed perfectly. Liverpool will miss him.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 6
Henderson wasn’t quite as good as we’ve come to expect, but showed plenty of leadership that should make him a lock-in to replace Gerrard as captain next season.
AML: Raheem Sterling – 7
Rolled his ankle in the warm up but recovered well. Produced the funniest moment of the match with a deliberate handball.
AMR: Philippe Coutinho – 7
Tricky, nippy, elusive. Coutinho turned in another good game and has to be amongst the favourites for an end-of-season award. Tried a spectacular shot in the first half.
ST: Mario Balotelli – 6
Mario was Mario. Some brilliance, some school-boy errors. Struggled to get into the game at first but ended well.
SUBS:
CM: Adam Lallana (74 mins) – 6
Lallana replaced Jordan Ibe, but despite some moments of trickery couldn’t find a way to grab a goal.
ST: Fabio Borini (74 mins) – 5
The former Chelsea youngster came on for Mario Balotelli, but was largely ineffective. He should be sold in the summer.