Liverpool 3-1 Leicester: Player Ratings – Liverpool FC

Liverpool won 3-1 at home to Leicester and went seven points clear at the top of the Premier League, with Cody Gakpo in particular standing out.

Liverpool 3-1 Leicester

Premier League (17), Anfield
26 December 2024

Goal: Gakpo 46′, Jones 49′, Salah 82′; Ayew 6′

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Alisson (out of 10) – 7

Alisson has returned to the team without any problems and he was as confident as ever.

He could do nothing about Jordan Ayew’s early strike, with a header from Virgil van Dijk giving him no hope.

Liverpool’s no. 1 was otherwise untried and did not make a save.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6

It was a mixed night for Alexander-Arnold, who produced both class and frustrating moments.

Some lovely crosses were delivered from the right but his corners were consistently poor and the one shot fired into the Kop was not well received.

Adequate overall.

Joe Gomez – 7

Continuing in the absence of Ibrahima Konate, Gomez was not always convincing against Leicester.

He can often shrink from a shaky start, as happened here, with a couple of sloppy passes met with annoyance from the home crowd.

However, Gomez made some key interceptions and got much better as the game went on, for which he deserves a lot of credit.

Virgil van Dijk – 7

Van Dijk drove through things generally, although he may feel he could have done a bit better cutting the ball out for Ayew’s goal.

It’s hard though.

Otherwise, Van Dijk handled his duties with ease as Liverpool dominated possession at Anfield, completing 98 per cent of his passes.

Andy Robertson – 7th

While Robertson appears to be entering the twilight of his career at the top level, he produced an encouraging performance this time around.

The Scot was poor for Ayew’s opener, getting his body in a bad position and caught off guard, but he played a superb long ball to Gakpo before the break.

Hit the post with a header and offered consistent efforts, although not quite the force he was.

Ryan Gravenberch – 6

Gravenberch has started every single Premier League game so far this season, but this was one of his less influential performances overall.

That’s not to say the Dutchman did much wrong in keeping the ball ticking over, but he wasn’t as much of a boss in midfield as he has so often been.

Alexis McAllister – 7

There were times when Mac Allister looked off the pace early, but he really grew into the game.

The Argentine never stopped pressing, showed such tenacity out of possession and was sharp in his use of the ball.

Assisted Curtis Jones with an accurate low cross and made a great reception after being substituted late on.

Curtis Jones – 7

Jones came in for Dominik Szoboszlai in the no. 10 role but struggled to enjoy a convincing turn at first.

He slumped in front of goal with the net gaping and, as can be the case at times, was guilty of holding on to the ball for too long in general.

That said, he put Liverpool 2-1 up with a well-taken finish to ease the nerves and, like so many, he got better as the game went on.

Mohamed Salah – 7

On current form, Salah has a strong case to be the best player in the world.

He was busy early on to produce a lovely flick for Jones, but some of his execution lacked its usual inch-perfect luster.

Salah hit the crossbar and played some great sliding passes into dangerous areas before scoring his 100th Premier League home goal to complete the scoring.

Short of his very best, but perhaps we expect too much at times.

Cody Gakpo – 8 (Man of the Match)

Gakpo was again deployed in his strongest left-sided role and during a deep opening 45 minutes he was Liverpool’s most dangerous attacking player.

The 25-year-old saw a threat cut inside and it was his brilliant curling effort that made it 1-1 seconds before the break.

He had a goal badly disallowed after the break and then assisted Salah. The choice of Liverpool’s players from a distance.

Darwin Nunez – 6

Nunez returned to the team at the expense of Luis Diaz, knowing how important it was for him to produce a big performance.

Once again, though, you wanted more from the Uruguayan, who offered little in the way of link-up play and was caught offside too often.

However, he produced a nice flick in the lead up to Jones’ goal, and was denied by the keeper after some sharp movements.

Deputies

Dominik Szoboszlai (on for Jones, 77′) – 6

Booked, meaning he misses the West Ham game through suspension.

Diogo Jota (on for Nunez, 77′) – 6

A quiet cameo from the Portuguese.

Kostas Tsimikas (on for Robertson, 86′) – N/A

Wataru Endo (on for Gravenberch, 86′) – N/A

Harvey Elliott (on for Mac Allister, 92′) – N/A

Unused substitutes: Kelleher, Quansah, Chiesa, Diaz

Arne Slot – 7

Things couldn’t be better for Slot, with Chelsea’s 2-1 defeat at home to Fulham only increasing the importance of three points for his side.

The two changes to his starting line-up made sense, allowing for a freshness in the squad, but the first-half display was lacking.

But Slot once again got a much improved performance from his side after the break as they eased to victory at Anfield.

Seven points clear with a game in hand – what a job the boss is doing!