PLAYER RATINGS: Salah Breaks Another Record as Liverpool Beat Newly Promoted Ipswich Town 2-0
It’s a 12:30 kick-off. Liverpool are playing. Water is wet.
Arne Slot took charge of his first Premier League game for Liverpool as they travelled to newly promoted Ipswich Town. The Tractor Boys opened the doors to Portman Road and wanted to start off with an upset. You felt like it could have happened for the better part of an hour. But then Salah arrived.
Let’s get into the ratings then.
Player Ratings
Ipswich Town
Christian Walton (5): Didn’t have much to do for 70 minutes, but when he did, the ball went in. Couple decent stops later on.
Axel Tuanzebe (6): Was generally solid throughout. Kept Diaz quiet, but once the first goal went in, the Ipswich defence seemed to panic.
Luke Woolfenden (6): Defended his area well, never rushed into a challenge, besides for his yellow card. Perhaps the yellow made him think about what battles to engage in.
Jacob Greaves (7): Absolute duel monster. Ipswich have done well to obtain his services.
Leif Davis (5.5): Found out in the second half that you can’t let someone like Salah have that much space behind you. Was sloppy in defence once his side went behind.
Massimo Luongo (6): Was great for large portions, not so great for others. Taken off after Liverpool scored their second.
Sam Morsy (7.5): Excellent at winning his duels, and he tried to progress the ball further up the pitch more than most.
Wes Burns (5.5): Was the least involved of the Ipswich frontmen. Probably should have gotten a second yellow in the first half.
Conor Chaplin (6.5): Linked up well with his teammates, and was dominant against the Liverpool midfield.
Omari Hutchinson (5.5): Extremely lively, but also wasteful. Should have gotten a second yellow for a blatant handball.
Liam Delap (6): Created a couple nice chances, but not much besides that.
Subs
Ben Johnson (6): Looked defensively sound after coming on. Also kept Diaz quiet.
Jack Taylor (6): Came off the bench and looks a tidy player.
Marcus Harness (5.5): Didn’t really offer much after coming on.
Sammie Szmodics (6): Made four passes, nearly created a goal in minute 96. Looks a good signing.
Al Al Hamadi (5.5): Played 20 minutes, made three touches. Wasn’t the impact sub McKenna probably wanted.
Liverpool
Alisson Becker (6): Made a couple saves in the first half. Wasn’t called upon often, but when he was, he was ready.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7): Great vision to set Salah free for Jota’s goal. Covered well from corners, but was also bet too easily down his side.
Virgil van Dijk (6.5): Not at his best, had a shaky start, almost gave a goal away. Other than that, he was solid throughout.
Jarell Quansah (7.5): Was one of Liverpool’s best players before being taken off at halftime. Unlucky to not have played more, but the tactical switch did change the game.
Andy Robertson (4): Needs an IRN-Bru, and a square sausage. You can tell he barely had a pre-season.
Ryan Gravenberch (7.5): Done surprisingly well as the No. 6. Grew into the match as the clock ticked up.
Alexis Mac Allister (5.5): Felt game passed him by at times. Struggled in duels against opposition’s midfield.
Dominik Szoboszlai (7): Started off slow, but grew into the game. Some really nice passes in the second half, and done well to get an assist.
Luis Diaz (5): Wasted multiple chances and was not at his best. Gakpo and Nunez will be licking their lips at that LW position.
Diogo Jota (9): Liverpool’s best player on the pitch by far. He pressed well, looked lively, and was rewarded by netting the game’s opener.
Mohamed Salah (8): Was anonymous mostly for an hour. Then he got a goal and an assist. Mohamed Salah ladies and gentlemen. Now holds the record for most opening day goals.
Subs
Ibrahima Konate (7): His substitution changed the game. He allowed Trent to roam forward more, and he defended his area well.
Cody Gakpo (6): Came on. Got a yellow.
Conor Bradley (6): Couple good attacking sequences after coming on.
Kostas Tsimikas (6): Wouldn’t have taken much to be better than Robertson. Could cement himself as first choice.
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