Liverpool v United Player Ratings

Well I'm not going to recap any more of the soap opera that has become the EPL or more specifically, Liverpool Football Club. There actually was a game a football played yesterday and it wasn't a very good one. Liverpool looked very disjointed and played some very sloppy football, if you can call it that. For as poorly as we played, it is quite impressive that it was only 2-1.

For a look at how the United players fared, check out Sweet Science's ratings over at The Busby Babe.

On to the ratings.

Reina - 7 - Not much he could do on the goals although getting megged is never good. Did well in the first half, especially on Scholes.

Johnson - 7 - Probably Liverpool's best player. Did well on his side of the pitch and supported the attack. Forced a good save from deGea late and shot just wide early on.

Skrtel - 5 - Not one of his better matches, he seemed confused back there on who to mark. United had good movement up top and he was unable to cope. This is the kind of movement I have been begging Carroll to try to learn.

Agger - 6 - Not horrific, but not great either. He did well to get forward on a few occasions, but quickly found no one to pass to. All in all though, I still though he was a bit better than Skrtel on the day.

Enrique - 5 - Well this one needs little explaining. He was roasted by Valencia early on. I will say that Downing hung him out to dry by not getting back to help, but I still expect better from him. That said, marking a healthy Valencia solo for 90 minutes while probably still recovering from a knock would be a handful for anyone.

Downing -3 - Just awful. He failed completely to figure out how to get into this game. Because of that, he provided no attacking threat and no cover for Enrique. He was played on his favored left, and this really is the first bad game he has had in that position. That said, this was probably the worst game he has played in red, be it on the left or right. He even managed to pick up a booking in all of that with a terribly late challenge that just didn't need to be made as Fabio Rafael was going nowhere.

Spearing - 5 - He wasn't as bad as the grade indicates, but his give away for the second had to see him marked down. I have no idea why he didn't just turn it up the pitch. He did show some decent cover, and ok passing, but it still wasn't a fantastic game. It was an upgrade over Carra though.

Gerrard - 5 - Did what he could do, but found himself dropping increasingly deep in the defensive half. It is very hard to control a game from there. He had the chance to put Suarez in one v one after Evra and Ferdinand collided, but he mishit the simplest of passes. Overall just not a great game for him.

Henderson - 5 - He worked hard, but struggled to get touches. When he did, he usually wasted the ball. This game was a huge step back for him in his progress. Hopefully it was just a fluke.

Kuyt - 5 - Thetypical Kuyt first touch was back in this game. For those of you new to Liverpool, for the last few years Kuyt has had probably one of the worst first touches in the EPL. It has been much better this year, but it reared it's ugly head again today. He really struggled to do anything against Evra who really wasn't very good on the day (or the past few weeks for that matter).

Suarez - 6 - I'm grading him on his football. Not the other crap so I don't want to hear it. He still made the typical good runs, but completely lacked any support or service. He did well to pounce and was harshly ruled offside on a good link up play with Carroll towards the end. He played well considering the torrent of abuse he received and did well to keep his cool and just stay silent.

SUBS

Adam - 6 - Set up the Suarez score from a free kick and added some real energy to the side that definitely made United fans nervous. He was doing what Stevie normally does, will the team on. Good cameo for him.

Carroll - 6 - Not bad and created a few half decent chances. Still goes to ground way to easily and then whines and also had a few very poor touches.

Bellamy - 6 - Tried hard. I would have loved to see him start and be pulled at the 60' mark rather than the other way around. He definitely livened things up a bit and the three subs worked well to put a lot of pressure on United towards the end. He was a major upgrade over Downing (I realize that isn't saying much).