Full player ratings: Master crosser scores 8/10 as Liverpool secure title-winning omen with Newcastle win

in , , , , , , ,

Liverpool continued their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with a 4-0 win over Newcastle United.

The Reds took the lead after 10 minutes through Dejan Lovren with Mohamed Salah doubling the advantage early in the second-half from the penalty spot.

Two more goals came late in the second half from Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabinho to send Liverpool six points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Here’s how the players rated.

Liverpool

Alisson – 6 – Had nothing to do except pass until the 90th minute as he raced out to tackle and then save with Newcastle looking for a consolation goal. The Brazilian must have been bored.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8 – Got forward a lot alongside Salah in throughout the match, keeping Ritchie and Dummett busy. Had some testing crosses from set-pieces and also showed his long-passing ability on occasion. Got the assist his game deserved as his drilled cross across the face of goal was tapped in by Shaqiri.

Dejan Lovren – 8 – Beautifully gave Liverpool the lead with after just 10 minutes with a first-time half-volley into the roof of the net. Dealt with everything else thrown at him.

Virgil van Dijk – 7 – Was beaten by Ritchie’s cross in the opening five minutes but that was a minor blip in an otherwise solid performance.

Andrew Robertson – 7 – Attacked a lot with Newcastle sitting deep, often finding himself playing as a left-winger. A good game but was unable to make it count, with no goal or assist.

Jordan Henderson – 7 – Expressed his passing range throughout the match and was calm in midfield, able to play the game at his pace. A good match for the Liverpool captain.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 6 – Had an easy task in midfield against his former side, without doing anything of real note.

Xherdan Shaqiri – 7 – Threatened to hurt Newcastle’s defence on occasion but nothing too testing. Had Liverpool’s first chance of the match at the end of good play from the Reds but his shot was scuffed and went wide. Finally got his goal with a tap-in from Alexander-Arnold’s cross.

Sadio Mane – 7 – Found it difficult to break through Newcastle’s stern defence – for most of the match – but did his part in heaping pressure on the visitors.

Mohamed Salah – 8 – The Premier League’s second-highest scorer endured a quiet first half, with the ball not really falling his way. But caused problems after half-time, winning and converting a penalty after being fouled. Then added an assist with five minutes to go, as his corner was headed in by Fabinho.

Roberto Firmino – 6 – Showed some good play dropping deep but was marked well by Diame before being taken off with 20 minutes left.

Substitutes:

Fabinho (for Wijnaldum 62) – 7 – Had an uneventful game after coming on until scoring Liverpool’s fourth with a good header from Salah’s corner.

Daniel Sturridge (for Firmino 69) – 6 – Providing a new attacking threat to Newcastle’s tiring defence, and was unlucky not to score with a header.

Nathaniel Clyne (for Robertson 82) – N/A – A late sub.

Newcastle United

Martin Dubravka – 7 – Could not do anything about Lovren’s goal but was the reason Newcastle only went in at half-time 1-0 down. Produced two brilliant stops, first with Mane breaking through one-on-one and then to tip Shaqiri’s deflected free-kick over the bar. Beaten by a good Salah penalty and two more but Dubravka can hold his head high despite conceding four.

Deandre Yedlin – 6 – Held his line position against Robertson and Mane, giving the duo a tough time in the first half. Could not get forward as much as he would have liked to but held firm once more after half-time until the late crumble.

Federico Fernandez – 5 – Did not have the worst match, despite the defeat, keeping Liverpool’s frightening attack at bay from open play. But it will be forgotten with Newcastle conceding four.

Jamaal Lascelles – 5 – Played a role in Liverpool’s opener with poor header out to Lovren when there was no danger following a cross. But the Newcastle captain otherwise had a commanding game, getting himself into good defensive positions to stop Liverpool running riot.

Paul Dummett – 5 – The busier of the three centre-backs, having to deal with Salah and Alexander-Arnold but did well enough in the first half. Was adjudged to have brought down Salah just minutes after half-time to give Liverpool a penalty, which the Egyptian converted.

Matt Ritchie – 7 – Playing in a more defensive role, Ritchie did his job well. Was also Newcastle’s best attacking outlet with his testing crosses, beautifully finding Joselu inside five minutes over the head of Van Dijk.

Mohamed Diame – 8 – Newcastle’s best player, Diame ensured Liverpool did not have much luck through the middle of the pitch, keeping an eye on Firmino. Brought a few promising moves to an end but was unable to stop the rot behind him from set pieces.

Isaac Hayden – 6 – The less impressive of the two central midfielders, Hayden looked off the pace at times in the first half. But he did improve after half-time, doing well alongside Diame.

Kenedy – 6 – Had a fairly quiet game, not given enough time on the ball to get at Liverpool. But did his part defensively, winning more tackles than any other player during his time on the pitch.

Yoshinori Muto – 4 – Struggled to get into the game throughout, giving Newcastle little chance.

Joselu – 4 – Had the first chance of the game with a free header inside Liverpool’s area, but his effort was poor and wide. Did not have a good match.

Substitutes:

Sean Longstaff (for Kenedy 73) – 5 – Brought on for his Premier League debut, Longstaff could not do anything to rescue Newcastle.

Jacob Murphy (for Ritchie 81) – 5 – Did not do much after coming on.

 

The post Liverpool 4-0 Newcastle: Every player rated as Klopp’s side complete unbeaten half-season to secure six-point lead appeared first on Squawka News.



From Squawka NewsSquawka News http://bit.ly/2RkXZBa
Labels: , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)