How the Liverpool side rated in their 3-1 Premier League defeat to Manchester City.
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Liverpool endured a frustrating evening on the day that they announced the £16m signing of Mario Balotelli from AC Milan, with the Reds going down to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City.
Here are how we rated Brendan Rodgers’ side during their Eastlands defeat:
GK) Simon Mignolet (4) – Mignoley looked really poor throughout this match, he was never confident and his poor positioning for the Aguero goal was inexplicable.
RB) Glen Johnson (5) – Limped off at the end of a mediocre performance that saw him struggle to contain the superb David Silva and offer little going forward.
CB) Martin Skrtel (5.5) – The best of a bad bunch in the Liverpool defence, Skrtel was the only one of Rodgers’ back line that City did not exploit at will.
CB) Dejan Lovren (5) – Lovren looked shaky on his debut against former club Southampton last week and it was similar this evening, with the Croatian’s positioning particularly suspect.
LB) Alberto Moreno (4) – Given the toughest possible debut by Rodgers, Moreno seemed overwhelmed by the pace of the game – making a horrible individual error for the crucial opening goal by Stevan Jovetic.
DCM) Steven Gerrard (5) – The Liverpool captain worked hard but was off the pace, losing his man for the opening goal and not doing enough when in possession of the ball.
CM) Joe Allen (6.5) – Allen was the most impressive cog in a Liverpool midfield that started well but fizzled out, putting in challenges and being neat in possession.
CM) Jordan Henderson (5) – The former Sunderland man seemed horribly out of form, not displaying the same energy that made him such an important player last season.
ACM) Philippe Coutinho (6) – The Brazilian was important to Liverpool’s diminant display for the opening 30 minute, but his influence waned as the Reds’ control was taken away.
ACM) Raheem Sterling (7.5) – The teenage attacking midfielder was the best player on the pitch in the early stages, causing real problems for Gael Clichy and Martin Demichelis.
SC) Daniel Sturridge (7.5) – Liverpool’s lone striker played well, chasing lost causes and looking to create something from scraps – as he did when the Reds notched their late consolation goal.
Sub) Lazar Markovic (6) – Serbian Markovic showed a couple of pieces of fine skill and some genuine pace, but it was a tough situation to try and influence.
Sub) Emre Can (6) – Can looked neat and tidy, but by the time the former Leverkusen man was introduced the game had gotten away from Liverpool.
Sub) Rickie Lambert (7) – Was thrown on by Brendan Rodgers to offer a different, more physical threat and did just that, heading home a late goal to put some gloss on the scoreline.
Brendan Rodgers (5) – The Northern Irishman in the Anfield hotseat set his team up well and they dominated the opening stages, but he seemed slow to react when City got themselves on top and the match quickly seemed to run away from him.