PLAYER RATINGS: LIVERPOOL 1-3 LYON

Liverpool succumbed to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Lyon in the Dubai Super Cup. An early Carvalho strike was cancelled out by Lacazette late in the first half, before further strikes by Barcola and the ex-Arsenal striker sealed the result in the second half. Here are player ratings from the encounter.

Kelleher – 5

Didn’t have much to do first half hour. Made a strong stop from Dembele’s fierce drive. Failed to communicate with Robertson for the Lacazette equaliser as he charged out of his goal only for the Scot to knock the ball past him for the onrushing striker.

Milner – 6

Filled in at right back before moving to the base of midfield after the break. Looked better in the middle of the park.

Matip – 6.5

Dealt well with some early crosses into the box. Didn’t charge upfield with the ball like we know he can. A welcome return to action.

Gomez – 6

Operated as the left sided centre back. Played well enough, a few possession giveaways aside.

Robertson – 7

He was excellent first 40. Bombed forward with purpose and looked dangerous every time. Created a few chances as well. Don’t know what he was thinking when he knocked the ball past his own keeper.

Bajcetic – 7

Sat infront of the defence and put in some crunching tackles. One such challenge on Tolisso saw him harshly booked. Was impressive yet again.

Elliott – 4

Didn’t quite look at it. Gave the ball away sloppily at times. Set up for a decent chance but snatched at it. Subbed right after that with an injury. Hopefully not a serious one.

Thiago – 7.5

A joy to watch as always. Sprayed the ball around the pitch with ease. Put in a shift defensively too.

Salah – 6.5

Started brightly. Probably got the assist for Carvalho’s opener. Looked sharp whenever he combined with Firmino and Elliott with first time passes. Saw his penalty saved by the keeper. Was quiet as the game wore on.

Firmino – 7.5

He looked classy. Pressed from the front and sought to bring others into play. A typically selfless pass to Salah led to the opening goal.

Carvalho – 5

Handed the Reds the lead after a minute, tapping home from close range after some good pressing. Didn’t do much else after that.

Substitutes

Frauendorf – 5

Came on for the stricken Elliott. Filled in on the right of midfield. Was on the end of some heavy challenges.

Adrian – 6

Passed straight to Dembele and was lucky the striker took a heavy touch. Made a good save when one on one with the attacker. Unlucky with their third goal as he had made a brilliant save before the rebound was slammed home.

Ramsay – 6.5

Came on and immediately stood out. Went on a few mazy dribbles and was unlucky not to score with a terrific left footed effort from the edge of the box. Was given a good test by Barcola. Unfortunately saw his penalty saved in the shootout.

Phillips – 6

Came on for Matip at halftime and looked at home. Saw a shot deflected behind. The defence crumbled around him after a whole batch of youngsters came on late on.

Tsimikas – 5

Didn’t offer much going forward. Caught out of position for one of their goals. Belter of a pen.

Clark – 4

Couldn’t get a kick. Too lightweight, and too imprecise with his touch.

Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5

One powerful run through the middle brought back some good memories. Ran down cul-de-sacs after that. Switched from the left wing to a false nine role late on. Scored his pen.

Chambers – 4

Poor for their second as he backed off Cherki all the way into the box and allowed him to cut inside and find Barcola at the far post.

Corness – 4.5

Showed good feet at times and wasn’t shy to try his luck from range. Another who was just too lightweight for the midfield battle. Lyon dominated the latter stages of the game as a result.

Keita – 4

Terrible for the second. As culpable as Chambers. Couldn’t dissposess Cherki from midfield all the way into the box. Didn’t stand out in a team full of kids. A least he’s back fit. Scored his pen.

Doak – 4

Was really looking forward to seeing him but he couldn’t quite show what he was capable of. Spent most of the time helping out in his defensive third. The few times he got the opportunity to ran at his fullback, he either overdid it or tripped over his own feet.

Stewart – N/A

Was on briefly, before being taken off for Cain.

Cain – N/A

Played on the left wing. Lightweight.

Jürgen Klopp

The manager went with his strongest available XI and was rewarded with a strong start. The gegenpress was in full force as Liverpool choked the life out of Lyon in the early exchanges. Failure to capitalise on that dominance came back to bite them as the French side grew into the game and found an equaliser.

The second half was a tale of the Lyon youngsters outclassing their Liverpool counterparts. Good work out in the end. Another injury though (Elliott), leaves the squad looking paper thin. On to Milan.