Liverpool picked up a 2-0 win over Rangers in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night.
Goals from Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah secured a comfortable victory over Rangers for Liverpool at Anfield.
The home side were under a lot of pressure coming into the contest, especially after the 3-3 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League. However, the players stepped up and got the job done in front of their own fans.
Liverpool have now picked up two wins and a defeat from their first three group games of the Champions League. And the Reds will hope to finish the group stages strongly and secure a place at the top of Group A.
Meanwhile, Rangers will feel that they did all they could have on the night but were simply outplayed by a team with far more quality in every area of the pitch. The Scottish outfit have now lost all three games in the Champions League group stages. And their chances of progressing into the next round of the competition seem impossible.
Here at The Hard Tackle, we look at how the Liverpool players fared in the 2-0 win over Rangers on Tuesday night.
Alisson Becker: 7/10
The Brazilian goalkeeper put on a standard display on a night where he was relatively untested. Although there was one lapse in concentration early on, he did well for the rest of the game and pulled off an impressive safe late on from the Rangers forward Antonio Colak.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 8/10
The Liverpool right-back has been criticised heavily for his defensive displays, but he put on a clinic against Rangers on the night. The England international was solid defensively, and his delivery going forward was exceptional. He also scored a beautiful free-kick to give his side the lead.
Gary Neville says Trent Alexander-Arnold has the potential to be the greatest right-back to have ever lived 👀 pic.twitter.com/t6qqp3mT9C
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 4, 2022
Joel Matip: 8/10
The Liverpool defender had a no-nonsense approach from the beginning and dealt with Alfredo Morelos comfortably. Matip kept things neat and tidy at the back throughout the night.
Virgil van Dijk: 7/10
The Dutchman was under a bit of pressure after his mediocre display against Brighton. But van Dijk improved against Rangers and supported his partner Matip ably. Overall a much-improved performance from him.
Kostas Tsimikas: 6/10
Defensively, the Greek international looked quite solid but he lacked his usual efficiency going forward. Tsimikas is undoubtedly one of the best crossers in the Liverpool squad, and he is effective with his set pieces as well. However, he struggled with his accuracy against Rangers and will need to improve further in the final third.
Jordan Henderson: 7/10
The Liverpool captain was deployed in the role of a defensive midfielder, and he did his job well. Henderson managed to break up the Rangers attacks and sprayed the ball across the pitch with accuracy.
Thiago Alcantara: 7/10
The Spaniard was Liverpool’s main source of creativity in the midfield, and he managed to cause all sorts of problems for the Rangers side with this pinpoint accuracy and vision from the deep. Thiago found his teammates with his incisive passing and switched the play constantly with his long-range passes.
Mohamed Salah: 7/10
35 – Mohamed Salah has scored 35 UEFA Champions League goals for Liverpool, only Didier Drogba (36 at Chelsea) and Sergio Agüero (36 at Manchester City) have netted more for an English side in the competition. Legacy. pic.twitter.com/1UnCjoYgA1
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 4, 2022
The Egyptian will be delighted to have got on the scoresheet from the penalty spot. He was a constant menace for Rangers defenders on the night and created problems for them with his movement, pace and link-up play.
Darwin Nunez: 7/10
The Uruguayan, the player to watch in our preview, had an excellent outing and will be disappointed to have not got his name on the scoresheet. Nunez won the freekick that led to the first goal and proved to be a handful for the Rangers defenders. He linked up well with his teammates and could have scored more than once had it not been for Allan McGregor’s heroics in goal.
Standing ovation for Darwin Nunez as he makes way for Harvey Elliott. No goal for the Uruguayan but he's been making superb run after run for us and has been unlucky to not find the back of the net. They'll come #LFC pic.twitter.com/Y1wSCSu3hU
— Empire of the Kop (@empireofthekop) October 4, 2022
Diogo Jota: 7/10
The Portuguese international was deployed in the hole behind Nunez, and he did his job well. Jota dropped deep to act as the playmaker and timed his runs well to support Nunez in the attack as the support striker.
Luiz Diaz: 7/10
The Colombian continued his impressive start to the season with another quality performance. Diaz showed tremendous work ethic on the night to close down the Rangers players and created a number of chances for teammates with his mazy runs and impressive one-touch play. He also won the penalty which was converted by Mohamed Salah.
SUBSTITUTES
Roberto Firmino: 6/10
Replaced Jota in the attacking midfield role and linked up well with his teammates.
Fabinho: 6/10
Fabinho was brought on in place of Henderson and did well to shield the back four.
Harvey Elliott: N/A
Came on too late to make any meaningful impact.
James Milner: N/A
Came on too late to make any meaningful impact.
Joe Gomez: N/A
Was brought on deep into injury time.
