Mignolet shines and Victor Moses bags on Liverpool debut…
Simon Mignolet – 8 – Liverpool’s Man of the Match
Liverpool’s best player – which says a lot about how the match panned out in the second half. The Belgian is looking like a really terrific signing. He dominated his area, held onto everything, and punched fantastically.
Andre Wisdom – 6
Not an awful night from the England Under-21 captain, but he has five minute periods in matches where he switches off, finding himself out of position and regularly misplacing passes. He had one of those last night, and the sooner Glen Johnson returns to fitness the better.
Martin Skrtel – 7
With Daniel Agger and Johnson out with injuries, Skrtel was the senior defender in a Reds back-line which looked like it hadn’t spent much time together. The powerful Slovakian did reasonably well, and deserves his place ahead of Mamadou Sakho on last night’s performance.
Mamadou Sakho – 5
Pretty awful debut from the Frenchman in all fairness. He did look composed on the ball, and made many clearing headers, but when you’re at fault for both goals as a centre-half you’ve had a pretty poor game. Will no doubt improve in coming weeks playing alongside Daniel Agger.
Jose Enrique – 6
Didn’t bomb forward like he usually does, but this was probably because he was aware of Swansea’s ability to play in on-rushing wingers down the flanks. The Spaniard did well defensively though, but rarely tried to challenge for anything in the air.
Lucas – 7
Arguably one of the most underrated players in the Premier League. The Reds look inherently more difficult to beat when the combative Brazilian starts, and this season he’s been quietly re-finding his best form. Broke up countless attacks in the Swansea midfield, and didn’t let Leon Britton settle into his dictatorial role.
Steven Gerrard – 6
Struggled to grab hold of the game from midfield as he’s so capable of – and was guilty of trying to find the on-rushing Sturridge with through-balls too early, instead of helping Liverpool retain possession. Did make some important tackles though, and remains the heartbeat of the Reds team.
Jordan Henderson – 6
Did exactly what was required of him – if unspectacularly. henderson works hard and has an unbelievable engine, which makes up for the ageing legs of Gerrard who plays from a slightly deeper position. Henderson is not too far from earning another England call-up.
Coutinho – 7
The silky Brazilian came off after 70 minutes after Ashley Williams hacked him down during a mazy run through the centre – and Liverpool missed his creative ability and imagination badly. His skill on the ball won corners and freekicks all evening for Liverpool by drawing opposition tackles, and fans will be praying his injury isn’t too bad.
Victor Moses – 7
As debuts go, this was very promising. Picking the ball up from 50 yards, Moses ran at the Swansea defence, before cutting inside and finding the bottom corner with a sweet striker. Liverpool have been missing that kind of raw pace and directness for many seasons. He also made Sturridge a chance out of nothing, which the striker should have scored.
Daniel Sturridge – 6
Can you give him a striker a six if they score a goal? Well, we have. After scoring in the opening five minutes, Sturridge didn’t really have a kick for 90 minutes. Missed a guilt-edged chance to put The Reds 2-1 up, but did make a nice run that enabled Moses to cut inside and finish for his debut strike.
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