How Liverpool players fared in the 2-2 draw against Leicester City
On a day when things started to look so good for Liverpool to kick start the new year with a convincing victory, Brendan Rodgers’ side slumped to a calamitous 2-2 draw having gone through the half-time interval with a demanding two-goal lead.
All in all, this tweet pretty much sums up everything about Liverpool’s current declining situation in goal.
Notwithstanding that case, here’s how the lads in red fared at Anfield earlier.
Simon Mignolet – 5/10
Realistically, I think a good, not to say great, goalkeeper would have saved one of the two goals Mignolet had conceded to Leicester City today. Yes, David Nugent’s exquisite strike was indeed a wonder goal, and we’d be asking too much from the Belgian international if we expected him to stop that stinging shot.
But I think Schlupp’s equalising goal two minutes after Nugent’s lifeline would have been saved had Mignolet’s positioning been more precise. Not mentioning that Mignolet gave the supporters a nail-biting moment when he was almost embarrassed by Mahrez’s long-range free-kick early into the game, giving everyone in the Anfield arena a major scare just two minutes after kick-off by leaving his left post unguarded thanks to his poor positioning yet again.
Mamadou Sakho – 8/10
Gave more reasons for the supporters to claim that he’s the best defensive asset Liverpool boast for the time being. Given the nod ahead of Dejan Lovren in today’s Premier League fixture, Sakho justified his boss’ decision by stopping Jamie Vardy’s goal-bound effort in the second-half with a courageous slide challenge.
Kolo Toure – 6/10
Filled into the starting lineup due to Martin Skrtel’s one-match suspension after picking up five yellow cards, and the Ivorian international often looked untidy at the backline throughout the 90 minutes today. Once again, communication and understanding lacked with his partners, thus allowing Leceister City to penetrate the Reds’ defense on a few occasions.
Emre Can – 7/10
To give Emre Can a 6 out of 10 rating for this encounter would have been a little bit too harsh on the German youngster, despite being part of the back three that conceded two goals. Yes, he was given a nightmare at Anfield earlier by the Leicester City attack that was often led by Jeffrey Schlupp, but the 20-year-old looked comfortable on the ball. His close control and slight trickery enabled him to get out of trouble whilst being pressed.
Jordan Henderson – 6/10
Not the best of games we’ve seen from Jordan Henderson to say the least. The former U21 captain of England still looks uncomfortable with the role given to him down the right flank, but managed to make up for the rocky performance with his endless pressing and tireless work rate.
Steven Gerrard – 7/10
We thought we’d see another one of those tantalizing Gerrard hat-tricks when the Liverpool captain slotted home two penalties in the coolest of fashions in the first-half. As usual, Gerrard’s passing looked tidy in the middle of the park and he was dictating the football like how the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Xabi Alonso famously do for their respective clubs. Unfortunately, Stevie G failed to inspire his team to victory on the start of 2015.
Lucas Leiva – 6/10
A quiet night for the Brazilian today. Lucas was not able to provide enough cover for the back three behind him having been given the job to get all the dirty work done on the pitch. Unconvincing displays like this often makes the Liverpool supporters wonder profusely, where the heck is Joe Allen?
Alberto Moreno – 6/10
Coming off the week with a well-deserved goal against Swansea City, Alberto Moreno arrived into this fixture boosted with an abundance of confidence in him. Went close to scoring on for himself again on one occasion, and could be seen running up and down the pitch zealously whilst trying to close his opponents down.
Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
There is certainly no lack of trickery in the Brazilian’s locker. However, Coutinho lacked vision on several occasions and this has been bothering me on previous fixtures as well. You can’t take away the fact that the 22-year-old is blessed with the world’s finest trickery, but you can see his teammates indignantly urging him to pass the freaking ball at times.
Adam Lallana – 6/10
Coming off the week with a spectacular brace against Swansea City and the fans singing his name, Lallana was in buoyant mood heading into Anfield and he nearly had more to cheer for when he found himself in goal-scoring opportunities. Lallana’s had the chances, but he simply wasn’t clinical enough to finish them off. Nevertheless, the former Southampton man is enjoyable to watch in attack and there’s definitely more to come from the lad.
Raheem Sterling – 6/10
Sterling’s got quick feet, and the world knows very well about that. However, apart from a well-timed cross that found Lazar Markovic in the closing stages, the newly crowned Golden Boy of Europe was much of a spectator of the game after winning the penalty of his side during the first-half.
Substitutions
Fabio Borini – 5/10
A relatively good opportunity for the overlooked Italian to catch the eye of his manager and the devoted supporters, but he simply couldn’t do that today. Opportunities are clearly running out for Borini, and now that the January transfer window has been opened, a big signing in the month could see him go further down the pecking order after a dull performance against Leicester City.
Lazar Markovic – 6/10
Brought on to inject more pace into the team during the second-half, the Serbian youngster did not fail in doing so. Nonetheless, Markovic was guilty of squandering a wonderful chance to put three points down the pocket for Liverpool when his clear header from inside the box went agonizingly wide.
Rickie Lambert – 4/10
Again, Lambert was not given enough time to find the winning goal for the Reds as the big centre-forward was substituted in for Alberto Moreno with only 5 minutes on the clock left to play.
So 2015 didn’t start the way we wanted it to. But oh well, conceding two goals in just two minutes, that’s just vintage Liverpool isn’t it? The 3-3 draw at Crystal Palace that caused us a grip on the Premier League title did hurt us, and it hurt us bad. But the team’s just not learning from their mistakes yet are they?