LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Alisson Becker of Liverpool celebrates after the Group C match of the UEFA Champions League between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on September 18, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Matchday 1 of the Champions League saw Liverpool continue their hot start against Paris Saint-Germain.
Liverpool came out pressing right from the start of the match and kept PSG pinned in their own half for most of the first half. It took a little while for it to pay off, but it eventually led to a breakthrough. Daniel Sturridge got his head to an Andrew Robertson cross and put it in the back of the net to open the scoring for Liverpool 30 minutes in.
It didn’t take long for them to add a second goal. 6 minutes later Georginio Wjinaldum drew a penalty on an unnecessary challenge from Juan Angel Di Maria. James Milner stepped up to the spot and perfectly buried the penalty to give Liverpool the 2-0 lead.
PSG would pull one back before before halftime. Just 4 minutes after the Milner penalty, Bernat found some measure of redemption when his cross led to PSG’s first goal of the day. Edinson Cavani tried to bicycle kick the cross in, but whiffed. Thomas Meunier took the opportunity and blasted a volley into the net to get PSG back into the match.
The game would stay at 2-1 for a while, but this match really heated up late on. Neymar played Kylian Mbappe in on goal in the 83rd minute and Mbappe seemingly stole an extremely important point for PSG. However, Roberto Firmino wasn’t going to let that happen.
PSG turned the ball over in their own half late in the match giving Liverpool one last chance to open the Champions League season with a win. Firmino made that chance count. His impressive finish gave Liverpool 3 points that could be key to winning this group.
The win extended Liverpool’s perfect start that includes 5 consecutive wins in the Premier League.
GK: Alisson 6/10
Alisson wasn’t particularly impressive against PSG. He didn’t save any particularly tough shots. He parried some balls that he should’ve caught, leaving the defense to deal with the danger. He didn’t play well as a distributor. That being said, there wasn’t really anything he could’ve done to stop the two goals that scored and didn’t make any glaring mistakes in the match. He wasn’t good, but he also wasn’t bad and that was enough for Liverpool in this match.
92% of his passes</a>. He also provided the assist on Firmino’s winner. He was part of the defensive lapse that allowed PSG’s equalizer, but overall it was a good day for Van Dijk.</p>
<h3>CB: Joe Gomez 6.5/10</h3>
<p>Gomez didn’t make much of an impression for Liverpool against PSG. He made a tackle, and interception, and 2 clearances, but he was pretty much a neutral presence in the match. He was part of the center back pairing that surrendered two goals and wasn’t able to do anything to prevent them. It wasn’t his best performance this year.</p>
<h3>RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold 7.5/10</h3>
<p>Trent Alexander-Arnold was a menace in attack for Liverpool in the Champions League opener. He sent in 11 crosses during the match and made 1 key pass. His 5 tackles were just the cherry on top of an impressive performance. He was Liverpool’s best defender against PSG.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2018/09/19/liverpool-player-ratings-vs-psg-roberto-firmino-saves-day/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Midfielders </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: James Milner of Liverpool scores their second goal from the penalty spot during the Group C match of the UEFA Champions League between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on September 18, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Alex Livesey – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>CM: Jordan Henderson 7.5/10</h3>
<p>Jordan Henderson was a key piece of Liverpool’s win on Tuesday. His 3 tackles and one interception in the midfield helped to keep PSG off balance. He contributed 2 key passes in his attacking efforts and didn’t make any major mistakes. As usual, he was a steadying presence in the Liverpool midfield and helped them keep control of where most of the match was played.</p>
<h3>CM: James Milner 8.5/10</h3>
<p>James Milner is an under appreciated piece of this Liverpool team. Most of the attention from fans is focused on the attacking trio, but Milner arguably plays just as big of a role as those three. He showed that once again in the match against PSG. He was instrumental in the win. He made 5 tackles and an interception in the midfield, which much like Henderson’s contribution, helped stifle the PSG attack. He also sent in 9 crosses, keeping pressure on PSG’s defense throughout the match. Most importantly, he stepped up to the penalty spot and buried his shot in the corner, extending PSG’s first half lead. He was the man of the match against PSG.</p>
<h3>CM: Georginio Wjinaldum 6.5/10</h3>
<p>It seemed as if Wijnaldum was on the ball pretty consistently yet he only had one standout moment. That standout moment was drawing the foul that earned the penalty kick that Milner finished. Outside of drawing that foul, he wasn’t really a factor in this match. However, that one moment was a pretty important one. Overall, that makes him a slight positive for Liverpool on the day.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #0" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://playingfor90.com/2018/09/19/liverpool-player-ratings-vs-psg-roberto-firmino-saves-day/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Attackers </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Daniel Sturridge of Liverpool celebrates scoring their 1at goal during the Group C match of the UEFA Champions League between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on September 18, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>LW: Sadio Mane 7/10</h3>
<p>Sadio Mane was a major threat during the whole of his 92 minutes on the pitch. He sent in 4 crosses and contributed 2 key passes. He combined very well with the midfield and with Daniel Sturridge. His ability to combine with Sturridge was very important with Roberto Firmino out of the starting lineup. His constant runs gave the PSG defense something to worry about for the duration of the match. Mane wasn’t able to get himself on the scoresheet with a goal or an assist, but he was dangerous throughout the match.</p>
<h3>ST: Daniel Sturridge 8/10</h3>
<p>Daniel Sturridge had the most surprising performance of the day for Liverpool. He’s struggled to find form over the last few years, but he certainly appeared to be on the comeback trail against PSG. He had 2 key passes, 2 shots on target, and most importantly, his header was the match’s opening goal. He also arguably should’ve created another goal for Mo Salah, but he was deemed to have fouled Alphonse Areola when the follow through of his tackle caught Areola down south. The call could’ve gone either way and had it gone his it would’ve put Liverpool permanently in control of the match. Sturridge’s performance should give Liverpool fans more confidence than they’ve had in recent years in the team’s ability to survive injuries and rotation up front.</p>
<h3>RW: Mohamed Salah 5.5/10</h3>
<p>The match against PSG was a very forgettable one for Salah. He sent in 5 crosses with 2 key passes, but seemed mostly disconnected throughout the match. He never appeared particularly dangerous over the course of the match. Liverpool’s control of long stretches of the match made this a perfect opportunity for Salah to put on an unforgettable performance. Unfortunately, he wasted the opportunity and was a major disappointment for Liverpool.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Roberto Firmino of Liverpool scores a goal during the Group C match of the UEFA Champions League between Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain at Anfield on September 18, 2018 in Liverpool, United Kingdom. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)</p>
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<h3>Roberto Firmino 8.5/10</h3>
<p>This rating isn’t entirely because of what he achieved on the field, but is in part because of how he achieved it. Roberto Firmino overcame an eye injury from a pretty vicious eye gouge in the match against Tottenham to earn 3 points for Liverpool.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>Eye injuries are an absolute nightmare. For Firmino to come into a match for 22 minutes with an eye injury and make the impact he did was incredibly impressive. He made a nice move to create space to get his shot off. The finish was beautiful. He didn’t do much else during his appearance, but he was the difference maker against PSG.</p>
<h3>Xherdan Shaqiri 6/10</h3>
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<p>Shaqiri didn’t have much time to make an impact, but did offer fresh legs in attack for Liverpool. He sent in 2 decent crosses and didn’t make any mistakes during his appearance. That’s really all there was to Shaqiri’s time in the match.</p>
<h3>Fabinho: Inc.</h3>
<p>Fabinho only appeared for one minute, so he really didn’t get a chance to make any impact other than running a little bit of time off of the clock during stoppage time.</p>
<h3>Jurgen Klopp 9/10</h3>
<p>Klopp came out with a very effective game plan. Even without Firmino in the starting lineup he kept the pressure on PSG and it was a very effective strategy. PSG looked shell-shocked right up to Meunier’s goal. Liverpool was in control for most of the match. He even made the right call bringing Firmino on late in spite of his injury. Any time you can beat PSG in a Champions League match it should be considered a good day for the manager.</p>
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<p>He won the battle of former Dortmund managers and put Liverpool in a good position to win this year’s Group of Death.</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">