Liverpool climbed to 7th in the Premier League table after beating Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light. Christian Benteke repeated his feat at Leicester City by scoring the winner , who could have easily scored a few more, but poor finishing and Sunderland goalkeeper Vito Mannone, who was in top form, denied the Reds.
Jurgen Klopp’s men have now won back to back games after beating Leicester City in their last game, while Sunderland have lost their last 5 games in the league. We take a look at the individual player ratings from the game at Stadium of Light.
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Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 7/10
Mignolet made a brilliant save off Jermain Defoe in the first half, but wasn’t tested much throughout the game. The Belgian goalkeeper did well to keep another clean sheet for his team. With this he ended 2015 with the most clean sheets in the Premier League in the calendar year – 16.
Nathaniel Clyne – 7/10
Clyne was solid at the back and provided a decent outlet in attack. He was also involved in Benteke’s goal while he kept former Liverpool man Fabio Borini quiet throughout the game.
Dejan Lovren – 8/10
Lovren once again shone defensively and is looking more like the man Liverpool paid £20m for. He wasn’t tested much from the Sunderland attackers, but did well whenever called upon to keep another clean sheet.
Mamadou Sakho – 7/10
Sakho was troubled on a couple of ocassions by Jermain Defoe, but overall had a good game. He and Lovren seem to formed a good partnership at the back.
Alberto Moreno – 7/10
Moreno was heavily involved in the first half of the game, but could do better going forward. He was booked late in the game for a poor foul on young Duncan Watmore.
Emre Can – 8/10
Emre Can was heavily involved in the first half, and had more touches and passes than anyone else. He seems to be performing well in a two man midfield with Jordan Henderson.
Jordan Henderson – 6/10
Henderson was seen playing a deeper role in the midfield today. The Liverpool skipper put in a decent show, but had to substituted in the 60th minute due to an injury he suffered in the first half.
Adam Lallana – 5.5/10
The Englishman got a lucky assist as his touch from Clyne’s pass fell in Christian Benteke’s path. His off the ball work was impressive, but he needs to do much more to keep his spot in the team.
Philippe Coutinho – 6/10
Coutinho has been poor since returning from injury, and the Sunderland match was no different. He had a few bright moments in the match, but was nullified largely by the Black Cats defenders.
Roberto Firmino – 7/10
The Brazilian was unlucky not to be on the scoresheet twice in the first half. First, from his brilliant effort from 30 yards, which was saved by Mannone, and then his header from inside the penalty box, where he hit it close to the goalkeeper. The summer recruit is still some way off his best, but he is beginning to show flashes of brilliance.
Christian Benteke – 6.5/10
The Belgian international has now scored in back to back games, after he scored from Lallana’s pass just at the start of the second half, but was very poor in the first half and his off the ball movement seems to be a concern. He also missed a golden chance in the dying seconds of the game to increase Liverpool’s lead.
Substitutes
Lucas Leiva – 6/10
Lucas came on for Jordan Henderson in the 61st minute, and did well to see out the game for Liverpool.
Jordon Ibe – 5/10
Ibe came on for Philippe Coutinho in the 82 minute, and had a great chance to extend Liverpool’s lead, and should be very disappointed with himself to miss the target or set up Firmino for the shot.
Kolo Toure – N/A
Kolo Toure came on too late to make an impact.
Sunderland
Vito Mannone – 8/10
Mannone was easily Sunderland’s best player and the Man of the Match. He made two brilliant saves in the first half to deny Roberto Firmino, and also made an excellent save to deny Christan Benteke late in the game.
Billy Jones – 6/10
The fullback was solid at the back and kept Coutinho quiet for large parts in the match.
Sebastian Coates – 6/10
The former Liverpool defender looked composed till he had to be substituted due to injury in the second half.
Wes Brown – 6/10
The former Manchester United defender had a decent game, but was not helped by the midfielders ahead of him. He was strong aerially, but struggled against Adam Lallana’s quick feet.
Patrick Van Aanholt – 5/10
Van Aanholt was found out of positions a few times and needed Borini to bail him out on a few occasions.
Lee Cattermole – 5/10
The Sunderland skipper put in few tackles, and was lucky to escape a booking on a couple of occasions. He failed to have an impact in the game as Can and Henderson kept the dimunitive midfielder quiet.
Yann M'Vila – 5/10
M’Vila was forced to do a lot of defensive work throughout the game, but really struggled against the likes of Firmino and Emre Can.
Jack Rodwell – 5/10
He had to be substituted just after 28 minutes due to an injury, and made no impact on the game until then.
Adam Johnson – 5/10
Johnson had a good opportunity from a free-kick to give Sunderland the lead, but made a mess of it. Overall, he didn’t do much in the game either as the Liverpool defence coped with him with relative ease.
Fabio Borini – 7/10
Borini made no secret about his desire to score against his former side and tried hard throughout the match, but always came up short. He came closest to scoring when the Liverpool defence switched off and Van Aanholt found him in the box, but his shot after a sharp turn went wide. He ran his heart out throughout the match.
Jermain Defoe – 5/10
Defoe did well to cause problems early on in the game, but his shot was saved by Mignolet. Apart from that, he looked invisible for the rest of the game as he was bullied by Sakho and Lovren.
Substitutes
Duncan Watmore – 7/10
Watmore was introduced for the injured Rodwell in the 29th minute, and lifted the team and the fans with his instant impact. He caused Liverpool a few problems with his direct approach, but couldn’t impact the scoreline. One to watch out for in the future.
Jeremain Lens – 5/10
Jermain Lens came on for Adam Johnson in the 62nd minute, but struggled in the game. He could thank the stars for not being given his marching orders for a vile tackle on Mamadou Sakho.
DeAndre Yedlin – 5/10
Yedlin was brought on for Coates in the 72nd minute, and with Sunderland chasing the game, tried to attack, which saw the Black Cats defence exposed a few times.
