Liverpool ran out comfortable winners against LASK this evening as they booked their passage through to the Europa League group stages.
The Reds never looked back having scored two goals in the opening 15 minutes. Two more were added in the second-half, with a bonus clean sheet to boot. Here’s how we rated the players.
Defence
Caoimhin Kelleher: 8 – It’s a big few weeks for Kelleher and he started it off in the best possible way with an excellent display here. Several big saves were notable including an Alisson-esque one-on-one thwarting.
Joe Gomez: 7 – A start at right-back yielded an impressive opening goal assist for Gomez. His early lofted ball was perfect for Luis Diaz to run onto and bury with his head. Looked assured in possession when stepping into the middle, before a switch to centre-half.
Ibrahima Konate: 6 – Nothing much doing for Konate, who has had a quiet time of late. An early substitution suggests he’ll be involved from the start on Sunday.
Jarell Quansah: 8 Man of the Match – Another day, another Man of the Match performance from Jarell. His passing through the lines was first-class all evening, while he showed the physicality which has led to Jurgen Klopp calling him ‘aggressive,’ and his recovery pace isn’t bad either. Near faultless again from the 20-year-old who looks absolutely first team ready.
Kostas Tsimikas: 8 – Next to Quansah on the left side of the defence, Tsimikas continued his renaissance. The £12m man looks so much more assured than in previous rounds of this competition. Desperately unlucky to rattle the bar with a superb long-range effort.
Midfield
Wataru Endo: 7 – A better performance from Endo who grew into the game and showed one or two moments of real quality. Still looks half-a-yard off the pace but one of his better displays this season.
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Ryan Gravenberch: 7 – Watching Gravenberch has been a delight recently and he looked set to continue that early on against LASK. As we’ve become accustomed to, the 21-year-old was gliding past players and adding his silky touch to proceedings. Grew a little quiet though before being replaced.
Harvey Elliott: 7 – A generally lively display from Elliott who was seemingly everywhere in the first-half. One lovely ball over the top for Salah was notable, although one or two loose touches were on show later on.
Attack
Mohamed Salah: 8 – Desperate for a goal in the first-half, Mo had to make do for an assist that Michael Owen called ‘strange.’ Should have had a couple before he buried a penalty early in the second-half, before being taken off.
Cody Gakpo: 7 – Perhaps it seems strange to give Gakpo just a 7 after he bagged twice. But in truth the Dutchman was a little off the boil in his general game. Sloppy with his first touch and not on the wavelength of his attacking colleagues, he’s clearly a little rusty. Nevertheless, two much needed goals ahead of what’s a big period for him.
Luis Diaz: 7 – Again, Lucho was lively and got the Reds underway with a lovely header, but never fully convinced on the night. Like Gakpo, he needed the goal, however it still feels like we’re not quite seeing the best of the Colombian.
Substitutes
Despite Klopp going early with a trio of substitutions, neither Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold or Curtis Jones made too much of an impact. Trent gets a special mention for a lovely last-minute assist for Gakpo, but the other two were quiet.
Meanwhile, there was a nice moment later on as Luke Chambers got another run out and Conor Bradley made his return from injury. Well in, lads.