Super important win; now we are back in the top-4 conversation that we were in danger of dropping out of. 2 points behind United now and we are the first team who brought Leicester down to the ground a little bit. Onward and upward!
My ratings:
Mignolet 6.5 – made a great stop at a near post and a fairly routine on from Mahrez in the first half. Also composed with catching the ball. I wouldn't blame him for flapping at a corner, I think Lovren's touch took it away from him.
Clyne 6.5 – solid and hard-working as usual
Lovren 7.0 – overall very solid and starting to look like a leader, has he turned the corner? Bonus points for recovering from the injury so quickly and settling well in a less familiar RCB role.
Sakho 6.0 – much better than last game, but still some way off his best form. We all know how good he can be, the only question is are those injuries going to stop?
Moreno 6.0 – skinned cleanly by Mahrez at least 2 times, other than that OK.
Henderson 7.0 MOM – several absolutely sublime passes in midfield and what's especially pleasing is how quickly he makes those decisions, he seems to know what to do with the ball even before it comes to him. He learned it from Stevie, I'm sure. Too bad he didn't have the same composure in his 1 on 1, I thought he somehow was determined to pass even though it made more sense to accelerate and score. Still, he is some player and pretty much undroppable at this point.
Can 6.5 – combative, positive and saved a certain goal with his block near the end.
Lallana 6.5 – hard-working and elusive, back to his supporting player role that was effective against Man City. Just don't expect him to do all that and also score or create many goals.
Firmino 6.0 – his first full game as a Liverpool player, a game-winning assist and he always helped out on defense and pressing, even in the first half when most people said he was anonymous. Can do much more, but overall a positive step for him.
Coutinho 6.0 – maybe the birth of his first child affected his concentration; his instincts seems to be out of alignment at the moment. Tried hard, but more fussy than effective and you could see when he was coming off that he was far from satisfied.
Origi 6.5 – our best player along with Hendo until he was substituted. I told you guys not to give up on him early! Super potential and he'll be unplayable when he learns to convert chances better.
Benteke 5.5 – I had a positive feeling when he came on, I though he might convert one of the chances that maybe Origi might not and that's exactly what happened. But on the overall performance, he is clearly low on confidence and the comical miss at the end confirmed that. I think he's better than this performance; even early in his Liverpool career he had games when he was much more involved with flicks and passes, I think now he is still processing what Klopp is telling him to do and trying to readjust his game. His teammates also were not able (or willing) to adjust to a different type of striker coming on, several times Benteke got the pass that took him towards the wing – Origi would have turned the defender and crossed or cut in, but Benteke just looked surprised that he is asked to do something other than waiting for a cross inside the box.
Lucas, Allen n/a
Klopp 8.0 – ballsy team selection, of all the games to switch to a more attacking 4-2-3-1 formation he chose one against the league leaders. Let's see if it's there to stay, Hendo and Can look like a good budding midfield partnership, but you need a good level of defensive contribution from the front 4 to make it work and if Origi is injured that's difficult to achieve.
