Several Liverpool players excelled in their 3-1 victory over Aston Villa, shining with stars both defensively and offensively.
The Reds faced their first Premier League game in more than a month on Boxing Day, which on paper looked like a tough game.
Jurgen Klopp’s team wasn’t perfect at Villa Park, but goals from Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Stefan Baisetic earned them three points apiece.
It was enough to win a third consecutive league victory for the first time this season.
Here we compare our player ratings with those of Liverpool Echo, WhoScored, FotMob and This Is Anfield readers.
It was Salah (7.9) who got the best overall rating on the night when he equaled Sir Kenny Dalglish’s score (172 goals for Liverpool).
The 30-year-old opened the scoring from close range, and soon after became the defender of Van Dijk’s goal.
Ian Doyle of Echo believes Salah was “bothering” the hapless Tyrone Mings by providing so much running and strength.
Henry Jackson of the TIA called the Egyptian king “a truly great hero of Anfield,” and few Reds players in history have been better than him.
Andy Robertson (7.8) was in second place after a flawless game at both ends of the field.
The precise transfer of the Scot allowed Salah to lead Liverpool 1-0, and Villa almost did not bother to target his team defensively, such was his level of stability.
According to FotMob, Robertson had 90% of completed passes, which also noted that he made five recoveries.
With a slight gap in third place was Van Dijk (7,7), who not only scored a goal, but also stood during the attack of Villa in the second half.
Jordan Henderson, Thiago and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6.5) shared the lowest rating, but, in truth, all the trio were on top.
Next for Liverpool is the visit of Leicester on Friday evening (20:00 UK time), where another victory is needed in the race for the top four.
