Liverpool player ratings for FA Cup defeat to Manchester United
Sunday saw perhaps one of the greatest FA Cup ties in the history of the glorious and illustrious competition. Manchester United were pegged back twice by Liverpool but somehow found a way to fight back and win 4-3 in ET.
A calamitous extra time that seemingly took the remaining energy from Liverpool saw them unable to bring it home and fall to a 121st minute breakaway goal after committing an unusual number of players forward on a corner.
Let's see how the players rated in this one.
Caoimhin Kelleher - 7/10 - Kelleher was well-beaten for two of United's goals, but he still made some strong saves throughout. His distribution was not the cleanest but this result is not on the Irishman.
Joe Gomez - 6/10 - It was not the best day for Gomez as he struggled a lot with the pace and adventure of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho. However, going forward he was as adventurous as he could be. Subbed for Conor Bradley late.
Jarell Quansah - 7/10 - While it might seem odd to give a defender this rating after conceding four goals, Quansah still played very well on the day. His partnership with Virgil van Dijk was good for long stretches. Some loose touches could be the moment getting to him for the first time.
Virgil van Dijk 7/10 - The Captain tried to lead by example on the day as he was his usual rock solid self. Decent enough ball distribution. Not at fault for 3 of the goals but couldn't organize the defense to bring home the win.
Andy Robertson - 6.5/10 - Robbo did his part linking up well with Luis Diaz throughout this one. However, his constant forays forward did leave the defense stretched at times and United took advantage on multiple occasions. Subbed.
Alexis Mac Allister - 7.5/10 - This rating could have been higher but Macca clearly tired, especially during extra time where his influence waned. However, he was a dynamic force early and bagged the first goal.
Wataru Endo - 6/10 - This might have been Endo's first mediocre performance in a long time as he was seemingly out of sync with the pace of the match, especially early on. Recovered in the middle portion, but he looked exhausted and lost a step or two late which led to the eventual winner.
Dominik Szoboszlai - 6/10 Dom got the start and made some nice creative drives to get things rolling for Liverpool. However, no end product came and was lacking his usual track back efforts. Subbed.
Mohamed Salah 7/10 - Mo got the start and he eventually got his goal. Was a danger and a threat as a lot of the attack went through him. Looked fresh even after going 90 minutes on Thursday. Subbed.
Darwin Nunez - 6.5/10 - This was an up-and-down day for Darwin who was his usual aggressive self. However, for as much threat and pressure as he put the United defense under, he never got the clear chances he craves. An awful pass in extra time gave the ball away and led directly to United's 3rd.
Luis Diaz - 6/10 - Diaz did a lot of running and dribbling, as is his style, but there was not a lot of end product which has been an issue a lot this season. He looked tired as well as he faded from the game late.
Substitutes:
Harvey Elliott - 6/10 - His long-range effort was deflected in for what we thought was the winner in extra time, but outside of that he was quite poor. Caught out of position on multiple occasions and did not do enough with the ball when he did have it. He'll grow from this.
Cody Gakpo - 5.5/10 - As good as Gakpo looked on Thursday, he looked just as bad today. Coming off the bench with Liverpool on the front foot, he did not offer any attacking verve. Dawdled on the ball far too often and let chances pass him by.
Kostas Tsimikas - 6/10 - The Greek Scouser did not spend a lot of time sitting back as he tried to push forward. Unfortunately, his service was not the best. Invisible for long stretches after coming on.
Conor Bradley - 5.5/10 - He did not bring any defensive solidity after coming on nor did he add an attacking element. The atmosphere seemed to rock him a bit. Tough spot as he was the last man back in the 120th minute but could not break up play in anyway.
Bobby Clark - N/A - There was not much for the youngster to do as he came on near the end of extra time. Would have been interesting if he would have taken an early penalty.
Liverpool now head into the March international break with a treble still on the table. Jurgen Klopp will hope to get more injured stars back before they next kickoff.