PLAYER RATINGS: RB LEIPZIG 0-5 LIVERPOOL

Guest Article: Written by Misheals

Liverpool travelled to the Red Bull Arena in Germany to take on Leipzig in their third pre-season fixture. Salah opened the scoring in the first half before Darwin Nunez scored a haul in the second period. Here are player ratings from the match.

Adrian

Didn’t have so much to do all half long. When he was called upon at the end of the half, after Konate goofed one and presented a gift for the enterprising Nkunku, he made a smart save, to keep the scores level. Got an hour.

Alexander-Arnold

He had a fairly regular game, nothing out of the ordinary. He’s set such a high standard, we’re accustomed to expecting more everytime.

Konaté

Solid on the tackles and playing on the front foot, but that error at the end of the half was glaring. He had Adrian to thank for sparing his blushes.

Van Dijk

Just a man mountain, controlling everything and marshalling the defense very well. I’ve missed those diagonals, and boy did he whip one to set Salah off. Can’t wait to see more of that all season.

Robertson

Does he ever get tired? Man is a blur, running up and down that wing. Has to improve on his shooting when at the cusp of the box, never seem to be able to hit them well else, he’d nudge more goals each season.

Fabinho

Looked like there’s a bit of cobwebs still in the system, sometimes too slow and lethargic, but all in all a good half for him as he broke up play well.

Keita

Played some fine interchanges on that right side, nice to see him ticking over. One particular attempted late run into the box almost caught the Leipzig defense cold and that was nice to see, even though the pass didn’t come through.

Thiago

Not at his influential best but that’s what pre season is meant for, to get all the body parts ticking over and getting ready for the new season.

Salah

Maybe trying to do too much a bit, but you can bet he’ll come around. Took his goal nicely, rolling it casually into the net after being teed up by Firmino. Wriggled past a few players at times. Gave Darwin the pen so he could get off the mark. What a guy!

Firmino

His usual self tonight, coming infield to create more space and dragging defenders along. Ball bounced to him kindly and he instinctively just put it on a plate from Salah.

Diaz

Has been a bit off radar last two games, not great especially with the all the uncertainty surrounding Mane leaving, Salah extending and Nunez arriving. One lazy pass from him got Klopp cursing out. It led to a counter that Robbo got back to halt. Won a penalty early second half.

Subs on at HT

Matip

Big Ol lanky Joel. Just a pure defender, took his place beside Virgil and helped to secure the backline.

Tsimikas

Did his bit as part of the backline, earning valuable minutes under his belt, and providing width up front when he overlapped.

Henderson

Capitano immediately stamped his authority on the midfield after coming on, ensuring everyone was on their toes.

Nunez

The press sought to create an agenda around this young man, not because his ability was in doubt, but more because they were scared of what beast such a talented striker could turn into in the magical hands of Klopp. He had only one word for his detractors, ‘Resilencia🤫’

Boy did he tear the Leipzig defense apart. I’m not even pumped by this as such, because it’s only preseason, just like his misses didn’t make for panic, but there’s no better way to say 🤫 than with a total annihilation of the Leipzig defense in 45 minutes. Four goals, and it could have been more. Resilencia!

Subs on at 61′

Davies

Was calm and I especially liked his distribution, he has a lovely left foot. Calm demeanor when in possession.

Milner

Having his leadership in the team is just priceless. You can’t buy that experience. Reminded us of his creativity by threading one eye of the needle pass for Nunez. Whipped a cross from the byline for the Uruguayan which saw a thumping header pushed behind.

Gomez

On for Virgil. Slotted in nicely and used his pace and assuredness to help marshall that backline.

Bajcetic

One of the raft of exciting young players Liverpool have in their ranks. Had a good run out. A strong run led to him finding Elliott in the lead up to the fourth.

Jones

Showed strength, and looked to be serious about making his mark with the competition for places fierce. Didn’t do too bad. Showed some lovely feet by the corner flag late on when he beat about three before upended.

Carvalho

Exciting to just watching this beautiful Portuguese mesmerise and bring some dose of daring positivity and creativity to our play. Utilised further forward tonight, you can’t help but lick your lips at such a talent marauding in midfield with his directness and guile. Laid one on for Darwin.

Elliott

Another exciting one. I’m tipping this boy for big things this season. His understanding of space and his craftiness and directness will be a big problem for most Premier League defences. There are two messages with Elliott; “EPL, you’re not ready”, and “Keita, better watch your back”. Also laid one on for Darwin.

What a display by Darwin though! That should shut the naysayers up. He will gain huge confidence going forward. Here’s to hoping he can showcase such lethal finishing when the season proper starts.

It’s off to Austria for Klopp’s men now as they embark on a training camp. Two more pre-season fixtures remain before the Reds commence the 2022/23 Premier League season. The Community Shield of course lies between these two remaining games.