‘Fantastic’ 20-year-old takes his chance, £60m man not himself: Liverpool’s player ratings vs Bournemouth

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Liverpool progressed to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup this evening with a 2-1 win over Bournemouth.

It was an awkward night in pretty horrendous weather conditions for the Reds, but they came through it intact. Here’s how we rated the players at Dean Court.

Defence

Caoimhin Kelleher: 6 – In blustery and wet conditions Kelleher’s handling was good. Got down well to stop – and hold – a couple of first-half efforts. Looked a little sloppy on the ball at times though and was desperately poor from Bournemouth’s corners, letting them sail over his head and eventually conceding from one.

Joe Gomez: 6 – Did well at right-back offering an outlet on the outside of Dominik Szoboszlai. Struggled a little with the wind though and was lucky not to be punished by some misjudging of balls over the top.

Joel Matip: 7 – One of Liverpool’s more commanding players on the night, Matip stood up well all game. Couldn’t help enough when it mattered from the Cherries’ set-pieces, but was solid and dependable as he has been all season.

Jarell Quansah: 8 (Man of the Match) – Terrific both in possession and in duels. Quansah showed why Jurgen Klopp has been calling him ‘fantastic’ this season with a brilliantly composed display. Coped well with the wet conditions and looked far older than his 20 years. We’ve got another gem.

Kostas Tsimikas: 4 – Dreadfully off the pace from the first minutes of the game and never really recovered. Offered nothing by way of attacking threat.

Midfield

Wataru Endo: 6– Another half-decent display from the Japanese which slowly drifted as the game went on. Positive in possession but at times not quick enough to use it. Taken off.

Curtis Jones: 4 – Far too slow and ponderous on the ball. Doesn’t look in-tune with the rest of the team just at the moment and is comfortably losing the battle to start against Ryan Gravenberch.

Harvey Elliott: 7 – Should have scored when arriving late into the box in the first-half but fired more or less straight at Ionut Radu. Otherwise one of Liverpool’s best players on the night. Lively, energetic and tidy on the ball, it was his strike into the box which created Cody Gakpo’s opening goal.

Attack

Dominik Szoboszlai: 5 – Surprisingly deployed on the right of Liverpool’s front three, this was comfortably the £60m man’s worst performance for the Reds. Passes and shots drifted wide of targets they’d usually find. Subbed for Gravenberch after an ineffective second-half.

Mohamed Salah: 6 – Another in an unfamiliar position, Salah played through the middle of Liverpool’s makeshift front three. Almost got in a couple of times but was crowded out. Went close with a header when he might have done better from six yards.

Cody Gakpo: 6 – Gakpo may have got himself on the scoresheet, but it was still far from the kind of display we need to see from him. Anonymous for much of the game, he did well to pounce for the opening goal and we liked the fight he showed when picking up a booking in the second period. Otherwise we still need to see a little more.

Substitutes

Alexis Mac Allister: 5 – Came into the game and just couldn’t keep the ball on the wet surface. Got better, with one delightful dink over the top for Salah, but not quite up to speed on the whole.

Trent Alexander-Arnold: 4 – Like Mac Allister, just couldn’t find a teammate often enough. Did well with one break but fired straight down Radu’s throat. Less Hollywood balls when defending tight leads would be nice.

Darwin Nunez: 7 – What can you say about Nunez. Another game another goal, and what a goal this was. With the jeers of Bournemouth fans ringing in ears his ears after a bad touch took him wide, Darwin cut back inside and lashed a fierce curler into the top corner to win the game. Have a bit of that.

Ryan Gravenberch: 3 – Not much of note from Gravenberch aside from TWO silly free-kicks given away in dangerous positions and a blasted shot high and wide when well placed.

Diogo Jota: 6 – Made it stick more than Liverpool’s other forwards in a lively cameo.