Liverpool ended the 2022/23 season in truly bonkers fashion as the Reds drew 4-4 against relegated Southampton on the south coast.
With Manchester United winning on Thursday night, the Reds could only finish fifth in the Premier League standings heading into today’s clash, with the likes of James Milner and Roberto Firmino being named in the starting XI for the last time in their Liverpool careers.
Here’s how we rated Liverpool’s players in the final Premier League match of the season against Southampton…
Defence
Caoimhin Kelleher: 4 – Couldn’t do much to stop James Ward-Prowse but arguably could have done more to deny Kamaldeen Sulemana from levelling the game up in the opening half as well as the winger’s second. Caoimhin Kelleher has been heavily linked with a move away from Liverpool, and his performance today did little to secure his Anfield future.
Trent Alexander-Arnold: 5 – Was influential in Roberto Firmino’s goal and assisted Cody Gakpo in the second-half but was caught sleeping minutes later to allow James Ward-Prowse to score and get Southampton back into the match. Another poor defensive performance from the England international.
Joe Gomez: 4 – Jurgen Klopp sprung a surprise by starting Joe Gomez in central defence, yet the choice proved to be a costly one as the 26-year-old struggled in his first Premier League appearance since early April. A big decision will surely be made on the defender’s Anfield future in the coming weeks.
Joel Matip: 4 – Just like Joe Gomez, Joel Matip’s inclusion in the starting XI was a poor decision from Jurgen Klopp, with the Liverpool defender struggling against the likes of Kamaldeen Sulemana as Southampton exploited the backline to as much as they could.
Kostas Tsimikas: 5 – Liverpool’s best defender on the day but still a poor performance from the Greek international. Kostas Tsimikas was let down greatly by his teammates and suffered the consequences, with the Reds ending the season one of their worst displays of the season.
Midfield
Fabinho: 4 – A showing that Fabinho will want to forget quickly. Despite assisting Roberto Firmino, the Brazilian midfielder was well off the boil against Southampton, who found it way too easy to break his defensive line and to cause the Liverpool backline issues.
James Milner: 6 – The Liverpool veteran’s final game for the club, James Milner was quiet in central midfield as the 37-year-old was unable to influence the match that much, though the former Manchester City man gave a better account for himself than his counterparts in the middle of the park.
Curtis Jones: 5 – Curtis Jones has been arguably Liverpool’s best midfielder in recent weeks, yet the England youth international struggled with the set-up this afternoon as Trent Alexander-Arnold played a more defensive role against Southampton, resulting in the youngster struggling with the added space.
Attack
Mohamed Salah: 6 – Enjoyed a bright start but quickly faded as Southampton got their foot into the game. Mohamed Salah woke up in a big way in the second half with a wonderful assist for Diogo Jota before almost grabbing one of his own with two minutes to go.
Roberto Firmino: 7 – A fitting end to the Brazilian’s time with Liverpool as Roberto Firmino took out two Southampton defenders with one simple motion to rifle the past Alex McCarthy. However, the 31-year-old was sloppy in possession to set up the Saints for their equalising goal.
Diogo Jota: 8 – Scored Liverpool’s opening goal after reading the situation well to latch onto Alex McCarthy’s terrible pass to put the Reds ahead with an easy finish into an open net. Diogo Jota then fired the visitors back into the match with a fine strike to make it 4-4.
Substitutes
Harvey Elliott: N/A
Jordan Henderson: 4 – Came on just before the hour mark and made a dreadful pass in his own half to allow Adam Armstrong to drive through on goal to make it 4-2 to Southampton.
Luis Diaz: N/A
Cody Gakpo: 7 – Added some calm to the storm with an easy finish from a brilliant Trent Alexander-Arnold cross.
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