Matchweek 17: Southampton 1 – 0 Liverpool – Player Ratings
Sat down with this late last night. Gave everyone 4’s. Drank another beer and fell asleep. Woke up yelling semi-coherently at Trent to stop turning it over or something to that effect. Woke up this morning, double checked the boxscores to make sure it was still 1-0 Southampton. Here we are.
RATINGS
Allison – 5
Need to be strong in confidence with two midfielders as his starting CB’s. Was anything but. Shaky positioning, giving the ball away… just.. ugh.
TAA – 2
Felt like he gave it away every two minutes. Turned out he did. 38 turnovers in 77 minutes. 38.
Henderson– 4
Looked like a midfielder asked to play center back. Probably should stick to midfield.
Fabinho – 4
World-class midfielder who’s been punching above his weight on the backline for weeks now. It’s time to prioritize getting our players back to their rightful places in the system.
Robertson – 5
A for effort, C- for execution. The delivery into the box is becoming a bit mindless at this point. A bit of creativity and purpose are needed.
Gini – 5
Did well all game to break up counters, but probably’s played a total of 8 minutes with the rest of that midfield. And it showed.
Thiago – 5
The early yellow is a killer. I think it changes the way he plays. You can see the class oozing from him. He’s just yet to build that chemistry that comes with time.
Ox– 4
Picked up right where he left off before the injury. Disappointing all around.
Mane – 6
Gets an extra point for being the only one with the courage to put one on the frame. Scrapped all game. Felt like he had a million chances but that damn negative FIFA momentum gets you every time.
Firmino – 4
Mixed bag. Provided some good linkup and interchanges but also gave it away. Should do better when sent in by Thiago.
Salah – 4
The confidence is gone. The linkup with the midfield is gone. He’s on a completely different chapter than Trent. He’s overplaying it. He’s holding onto it too long. He’s missing the simple pass. He’s trying to walk it in. I’m blaming it on the wedding.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Shaq – 6 (‘57)
Digging the 20’s prohibition gangster haircut. Muggsy’s a cool name anyway. Came out and created some spark. Also came out and missed chance, turned it over etc. A classic mixed bag, Shaq.
Milner – NA (‘78)
Pretty shite birthday.