Huddersfield Town 0-3 Liverpool: Player Ratings

Final score: Huddersfield Town 0-3 Liverpool

Goalscorers: Emre Can 26', Roberto Firmino 46', Mohamed Salah 78'

Emre Can, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah were on target as Liverpool eased to victory over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith Stadium on Tuesday.

Huddersfield had the better chances early on, but it was Liverpool who dominated possession and made it count in the 26th minute, after Emre Can's shot from long range was deflected off Phillip Billing into the bottom corner.

Roberto Firmino's shot from a tight angle just before the break gave Liverpool breathing space. Mo Salah ensured all 3 points with his 26th goal of the season, converting a spot-kick after Emre Can was brought down by Billing.

Here are the player ratings from the encounter:

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Huddersfield Town

David Wagner's side could soon be dragged into the relegation fight

Jonas Lossl - 6/10

Lossl made a handful of saves, but should have covered his post well enough to prevent Firmino from finding the back of the net at the stroke of half-time.

Florent Hadergjonaj - 6.5/10

The right-back looked dangerous going upfront in the early periods and was defensively resilient against Sadio Mane.

Terence Kongolo - 6.5/10

The Dutchman was solid at the back on his Terriers debut, making a number of interceptions. He was faultless for any of the goals conceded.

Christopher Schindler - 6.5/10

Schindler was excellent in the first half, but found Liverpool's attacking index a test too stern for him to cope with as the game wore on.

Zanka - 6.5/10

Zanka made a number of defensive headers and clearances amidst wave after wave of Liverpool attacks. He was aggressive and even looked to play the ball out in order to help his side keep possession.

Chris Lowe - 6.5/10

Lowe was a threat up the pitch, feeding Laurent Depoitre for Huddersfield's only shot on target. He kept Mo Salah at bay, not allowing the Egyptian the space to cut in and get space to wrap his left foot around a shot, something he has been doing so expertly over the course of the season.

Aaron Mooy - 6.5/10

Mooy was appearing to carry out box-to-box duties for David Wagner's side, getting the ball out of his defensive half and driving forward in an attempt to unlock the Reds' defence.

Jonathan Hogg - 6.5/10

The skipper did the dirty work in front of his defence, picking up the loose pieces caused by Huddersfield losing possession in key areas and making tackles to prevent the likes of Emre Can and James Milner from getting into positions of threat.

Phillip Billing - 5/10

Billing was clearly lacking match-fitness since recovering from injury. He was chasing shadows all game and paid the ultimate price by bundling Emre Can over inside the box to concede a penalty and finish the game as a contest. He was also unlucky to see Can's strike creep into the net via. a deflection off him.

Steve Mounie - 5/10

Mounie hardly looked involved in the game in an attacking sense, failing to test Karius or even play a team-mate through on goal. He was replaced shortly after the hour mark.

Laurent Depoitre - 6.5/10

Depoitre's (second from left) shot in the 17th minute was Huddersfield's only one on target

Depoitre was busy in the first half, challenging Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip with aerial duels sourced from crosses from Hadergjonaj and Lowe. He had Huddersfield's best chance to score, directing Lowe's cross on target, only for Karius to get palms behind the ball.

Substitutes:

Collin Quaner - 5

Quaner replaced Mounie in an attempt to bring Huddersfield back into the game, but Liverpool were well in control of proceedings by then. He was barely given any service to deal with.

Tom Ince - N/A

Ince was introduced with the result beyond doubt after Salah's spot-kick.

Rajiv van la Parra - N/A

The Dutchman came on to no effect, with the game out of reach and Liverpool in cruise control.

Liverpool

Emre Can was Liverpool's standout performer

Loris Karius - 7.5

Karius continues to strengthen his bid as Liverpool's first-choice goalkeeper with a clean sheet, characterized by a good save from Laurent Depoitre after 17 minutes.

Joe Gomez - 7

Gomez didn't have to be at his best against a struggling Huddersfield side, who looked short of ideas to expose Liverpool's defenders. Apart from early pressure from Lowe, the fullback dominated the flank, delivering a number of long balls over the Huddersfield defence.

Joel Matip - 7

Matip had a solid outing in defence after a recent poor run, keeping out crosses of any nature and neutralizing the threat presented by the duo of Mooy and Depoitre.

Dejan Lovren - 7.5

Lovren was excellent on Tuesday, organizing his back-line and showing the required aggression to shut out Huddersfield whenever they were on the offensive.

Andrew Robertson - 6.5

Robertson was sharp in defence, not giving Hadergjonaj and Mooy the room to approach the 18-yard box. His crosses, however, were over-hit and needs to be rectified if he is to rubberstamp his place at left-back ahead of Alberto Moreno.

Emre Can - 8

Can - who runs out of contract this summer - was a tireless prospect in midfield. He was seen shepherding the ball out of his defensive third as well as picking out passes in attack for Jurgen Klopp's side to carve out an opening against a resistant Terriers' back-five.

His strike from 25 yards to break the deadlock may have been fortunate as it was deflected in its journey past Lossl's goal, but he deserved the assist for winning the penalty after outdoing Billing for pace.

His industriousness in midfield was what allowed Liverpool to pile up the pressure and get the better of Huddersfield, something they missed during their surprise defeat to wooden-spoon holders Swansea last week.

Jordan Henderson - 7

Henderson pulled the strings together in midfield with a good range of passing and never allowed Mooy and Billing to get a stranglehold on the game.

James Milner - 7

Klopp went for experience in midfield in response to the Swansea defeat and got what he wanted from Milner - selflessness and hardwork in midfield, attributed by some eye-catching passes and long balls into the box.

Mohamed Salah - 7

It wasn't Salah's best night but he still scored a goal

It was not the brightest of nights for the runaway Egyptian, but he nonetheless capped a hard-working attacking display with a calmly slotted penalty to seal the points for Liverpool.

Roberto Firmino - 7.5

Firmino deserves credit for trying to get in behind the Terriers' wall on regular occasions to receive a pass and get a shy on goal. He was put through expertly by Mane in the build-up to the second goal, running the byline before slotting the ball through a pocket of space between Lossl's trailing leg and the near post. His work-ethic in a number nine role was commendable.

Sadio Mane - 7

Mane provided a clever assist for Firmino to double Liverpool's advantage in first-half stoppage time. However, he could have done better with the two headed opportunities he received thanks to well-judged lofted passes from Firmino in the second half, directing both of them wide.

Substitutes:

Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain, Georginio Wijnaldum and Dominic Solanke - N/A

All three were introduced very late in the game (83rd minute, 83rd minute, and 89th minute respectively) to run the clock down, and did just that, without making any significant contributions.