Liverpool and Chelsea staged an engrossing 90 minutes at Anfield on Sunday, with some stars and lesser-heralded players taking center stage in the Reds’ 2-1 home win.
[ MORE: Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea recap | JPW’s live analysis ]
Mohamed Salah is back to his very best, while Chelsea star Cole Palmer did not have his best day and two of the Blues’ brightest contributors were limited to under an hour due to fitness.
Here are the Liverpool and Chelsea player ratings. Agree or disagree?
Chelsea player ratings versus Liverpool
Robert Sanchez: 6 — Managed three saves but looked a little jittery when he came off his line, nearly conceding a penalty.
Malo Gusto: 7 — Looked world-class going forward, an excellent passer who made great decisions. The defensive end brings down that impression a bit.
Levi Colwill: 6 — An adequate, unspectacular day for a solid back.
Tosin Adarabioyo (Off 53'): 4.5 — Tidy with the ball, sure, but might’ve been sent off for an early restriction of Diogo Jota and was cooked on Curtis Jones’ goal.
Reece James (Off 53'): 6.5 — A good and active return, but looked rusty with his crosses and longer passes.
Romeo Lavia (Off 53'): 8 — Fantastic return and it’s a shame about an understandable minutes limit. Lavia picked all the right passes, controlled play, and won six-of-eight duels.
Moises Caicedo: 6.5 — Only James sent more passes into the final third.
Noni Madueke (Off 76'): 6.5 — Both Madueke and Sancho seemed a bit off with Cole Palmer in the center of the 3 underneath Jackson. Created one very dangerous chance.
Jadon Sancho (Off HT): 6 — Will be interesting to see if he was healthy when subbed off by Enzo Maresca. Wasn’t poor, played direct, and had five of his 26 touches inside the 18.
Cole Palmer: 5 — Took four shots but they accounted for just 0.31 xG. Maybe he’s better out wide, but this was a poor game for the hotshot.
Nicolas Jackson: 7 — His goal was very good. Liverpool otherwise did a good job in keeping the ball from getting to the Chelsea center forward.
Subs
Pedro Neto (On HT): 7 — Entered the game with vigor, creating three chances as one of the second half’s stars.
Renato Veiga (On 53'): 6 — Missed a big chance to level the score
Benoit Badiashile (On 53'): 7 — A very good 45 minutes, especially in possession.
Enzo Fernandez (On 53'): 6 — Neither good nor bad in his 40 or so minutes.
Christopher Nkunku (On 76'): 6.5 — Just 11 touches but 7-of-7 passes in just over cameo status.
Liverpool player ratings versus Chelsea
Caoiminh Kelleher: 5.5 — Just one save and below par with the ball at his feet. Leaned on the long ball and didn’t connect with his teammates.
Andy Robertson: 7 — A quiet, strong day on the left flank, with numerous crosses finding their target.
Virgil van Dijk: 6 — Relatively quiet day for the big man, who was steady but fooled by Jackson’s terrific run prior to the goal.
Ibrahima Konate: 6 — He’s been very good this year but Sunday was not his very best day.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Off 81': 8 — A Real-ly good performance from a player often linked with Madrid in recent weeks. Constantly engaged by the Chelsea attack, the right back did not put a foot wrong.
Ryan Gravenberch: 7 — A solid defensive performance, especially in the first 45 minutes when he may’ve been the best non-attacker on the pitch.
Curtis Jones (Off 81'): 9 — A nearly-perfect display highlighted by a picture-perfect goal. Jones had perhaps his best and most complete performance in the Premier League.
Dominik Szoboszlai: 5 — Like his attacking midfield counterpart on Chelsea, struggled to have any influence against a solid heart of the opponent.
Cody Gakpo (Off 66'): 6.5 — Active and strong, his goal would’ve stood had Salah not started his run too early.
Mohamed Salah: 8.5 — Fantastic. One of the world’s best is near his best, where the danger of his shooting has to be weighed against his otherworldly passing vision.
Diogo Jota: 6 — Seven touches in the first 30 minutes before leaving with injury. Nearly won a penalty with an exaggerated reaction.
Subs
Darwin Nunez (On 30'): 8 — If you can ignore some clown moments for the short-tempered forward, he was very positive at both ends of the pitch and made some crucial interventions.
Luis Diaz (On 66'): 6 — Wasn’t poor but never looked ready to take hold of the game.
Alexis Mac Allister (On 81'): N/A
Joe Gomez (On 81'): N/A
