MR) Jordon Ibe – 9
Brilliant, and what a perfect way to celebrate a meaty new deal. Ibe (although occasionally forgetting he was playing as a wing-back, and not a wing-forward), tormented the Besiktas fullback, who ended up on his backside on nearly four occasions. The last of which saw Ibe win us a penalty, which Balotelli bagged.
ML) Alberto Moreno – 7
Such a likeable influence down our left wing. Moreno works probably as hard as anybody in the team, and if he could only add a little classy end-product to his effort – we’d be looking at the finished article. Saying that – he almost scored with a 45-yard thunderbolt in the first-half.
MC) Jordan Henderson – 7
Ignoring his role in the penalty row – Henderson sprayed some delicious passes around this evening, much to the joy of the onrushing wing-backs. He also deserves (some) credit for humbly handling over the penalty to Balotelli – a much more seasoned and experienced spot-kick taker.
MC) Joe Allen – 6 (Lovren – 63′)
Fans will slate his performance out of habit, but that’s lazy analysis. He wasn’t terrible tonight. Not in the slightest. Allen made some tidy interceptions, chose his passes properly -and helped us dominate possession. Still – we looked better when Can took his place in the second.
