Liverpool player ratings vs Man City: Mohamed Salah fades as Reds defense crumbles

The Reds’ front four prospects took another hit as City came from behind to beat Jurgen Klopp’s side at the Etihad Stadium

Liverpool’s dwindling hopes of securing Champions League qualification for next season suffered another blow as they were beaten 4-1 by a creeping Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

The Reds briefly led in the first half thanks to Mohamed Salah’s clean finish, but City equalized through injured Erling Haaland’s substitute Julian Alvarez before heading away from their rivals after the break.

Kevin De Bruyne struck less than a minute after the restart and Ilkay Gundogan added another soon after as Liverpool’s weak defense crumbled again, leaving Jurgen Klopp confused.

The impressive Jack Grealish completed the goal with 16 minutes remaining as City put salt in Red’s injuries.

GOAL rates Liverpool players after another disappointing afternoon on the road… Guardian & Defender

Alison Becker (6/10):

Left exposed in front of him by the team. He’s too good for her right now.

Trent Alexander Arnold (5/10):

Nice ball to create the first goal. I struggled defensively against the excellent Grealish. Unlucky on the third goal but was incredibly sloppy on other occasions. Ibrahima Konate (4/10):

Played like a bag of nerves, looking confused by City’s speed and movement.

Virgil van Dijk (4/10):

Beaten too easily to equalize, City repeatedly exploited the Reds’ defensive line.

Andy Robertson (4/10):

Caught driving for City’s first two goals and wasted in good attacking positions.

Midfielder

Fabian (4/10):

Played on the sidelines in terms of fouls in the first half and looked over a yard off the pace the entire time.

Jordan Henderson (4/10):

Found lacking in composure, legs and ball quality. Harvey Elliott (4/10):

Inside and outside, and sometimes too sure of his passage. Impossible to get close to City’s midfield stars.

offensive

Mohamed Salah (5/10):

Icy finish to open the scoring but should have put Jota up 2-0 before City equalized. Fading before captioning.

Cody Gakpo (5/10):

Showed at least a bit of combat and some touches of class. Terrible dive to try and win a penalty.

Diogo Jota (5/10):

Great run and setup for the first goal but it faded as fast as Liverpool.

Subs and managers

Kostas Tsimikas (5/10):

Continue with the lost game. His most notable action in this match came when Pep Guardiola celebrated in his face after scoring the equaliser. The Greek kept his composure admirably. Roberto Firmino (5/10):

Darwin Nunez (5/10):

He couldn’t have been in shape, otherwise he would have been much earlier than he was.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (5/10):

Wasn’t worse than anyone, but his presence here just shows you how badly this season has gone for Liverpool.

James Milner (not applicable):

Too late. Maybe he feels too old for all that.

Jürgen Klopp (5/10):

What happened to his team?! Made his replacements late.