Liverpool vs Manchester City Player Ratings as John Stones and Virgil van Dijk impress
Liverpool and Manchester City played out a high-voltage game at Anfield but had to share points in the end. The draw sees both sides behind Arsenal in the Premier League title race.
John Stones scored in the first half to help Manchester City take the lead against the run of play at Anfield. The Cityzens held on to their lead until half time, but could have doubled it with just minutes remaining in the first 45.
Also read: Why were the Reds not awarded a penalty for Jeremy Doku’s foul on Alexis Mac Allister?
Their failure to double the lead saw them punished early after the restart. Nathan Ake’s under-hit backpass saw Darwin Nunez pounce on it before he was fouled by Ederson – leading to a penalty. Alexis Mac Allister converted from the spot to get them level on terms.
Luis Diaz and Co had multiple chances to win the game for the home side, but they failed to find the back of the net and had to share the points. Here are the player ratings from the game:
Liverpool player ratings:
Caoimhin Kelleher – 7.5 | The goalkeeper produced another solid performance to help Liverpool stay in the game and earn the point.
Conor Bradley – 7 | The youngster was easily the best defender on the pitch for Liverpool after Virgil van Dijk. He made excellent runs into the Manchester City box, but failed to convert.
Jarell Quansah – 6.5 | The young defender was brilliant once again but had some trouble while pressing high as Kevin de Bruyne and Erling Haaland were able to ease past him.
Virgil van Dijk – 8 | The Dutchman put in a captain’s performance and was rock solid at the back. He was a key reason Haaland did not score in the game.
Joe Gomez – 6 | Walker, Foden and De Bruyne were targetting the Liverpool defender who was playing out of position and it was working for the away side.
Alexis Mac Allister – 7.5 | While fans are set to concentrate on the penalty, the keen observes will be full of praise for what the Argentine showed in the middle of the pitch. He kept his composure and dealt with Bernardo and Alvarez with ease.
Wataru Endo – 7 | Decent outing once again for the Japanese star who was playing deep and linking well with Van Dijk and Quansah.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 7 | The Hungarian tried to score from a free-kick but failed to beat Ederson. He was linking well on the left-flank with Luis Diaz.
Harvey Elliott – 6.5 | The youngster was trying hard to get involved in the attack, but failed to make an impact.
Darwin Núñez – 7.5 | The Uruguayan star was a livewire once again and the biggest threat to the Manchester City defense.
Luis Díaz – 7 | The Colombian star had several chances to win the game for Liverpool but his end product was just not on the spot today.
Andrew Robertson – 7 | Came on in the second half and helped Van Dijk deal with the threat from the right flank of Manchester City.
Mohamed Salah – 7.5 | The Egyptian returned from injury and was doing all he can to help his side. Unfortunately for him, Nunez and Diaz were unable to get the end product from his passes.
Cody Gakpo – 6 | Cam eon in the 76th minute and failed to make an impact.
Also read: Why is Mohamed Salah on the bench today?
Manchester City player ratings:
Ederson – 6 | Could have avoided the penalty with a little composure and patience but went for the clearance and that helped Liverpool get their only goal of the game.
Kyle Walker – 7 | Was brilliant in attack and defence – he had two golden chances to help his side win, but overhit his crosses to the far post.
Manuel Akanji – 6.5 | The Swiss star had trouble dealing with Nunez, and needed help from his teammates to keep things intact.
Nathan Aké – 7 | The Dutchman was brilliant in the game but it was his mistake that helped Liverpool get a point from the game.
Rodri – 7 | The Spaniard was in top form once again and managed to keep his cool in the game despite getting booked in the first half.
John Stones – 7.5 | The Englishman was in excellent form in the midfield and the goal was a cherry on top of the cake.
Phil Foden – 6 | Failed to make an impact despite playing the full match.
Bernardo Silva – 6 | The Portuguese star also failed to get things going and just saw the game go past him today.
Kevin De Bruyne – 7.5 | The Belgian was on top of his game again and his inch-perfect corner helped them get the goal.
Julián Álvarez – 6.5 | The Argentine was finding it hard to get into the spaces as Van Dijk and Quansah were on his toes all the time.
Erling Haaland – 7 | Had a chance to score but was mostly shadowed by Van Dijk all the time. Could not shake off the Dutchman and found it hard to get involved in the game.
Stefan Ortega – 8 | Came on for the injured Ederson and made key saves to keep Manchester City in the game.
Mateo Kovacic – 6 | The Croatian was brought on to keep the pressure on Liverpool, but failed to make an impact after coming on for Kevin de Bruyne.
Jeremy Doku – 6 | The Belgian was once again finding it hard to make an impact on the game and was lucky to not give away a penalty at the end.