Liverpool will have to travel to Blackburn Rovers in a replay after being held at Anfield…
Liverpool 0-0 Blackburn Rovers – Simon Mignolet made one superb save, while Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge both had penalty appeals turned down in an otherwise quiet game at Anfield.
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The most memorable moment of the game was arguably the injury to Martin Skrtel, who spend eight minutes receiving treatment before being carried off on a stretcher. We’re glad to hear that he should be fine!
Read the full Liverpool player ratings below:
GK) Simon Mignolet – 7/10
The Belgian made one excellent save to claw out Alex Baptiste’s goal-bound header, but otherwise had a trouble-free afternoon in the Reds goal. He’ll be happy with another clean-sheet, a ninth since the turn of the year.
RCB) Glen Johnson – 6/10
He had a couple of shaky moments on his return to the team, but was otherwise solid enough. The England international has attracted plenty of criticism from fans this season, much of it unfair, and he did okay today.
CB) Martin Skrtel – 5/10 (Toure – 11′)
Forced off after just ten minutes with a worrying head injury, and he spent eight of those minutes on the floor receiving treatment. Early reports suggest his head hit the floor, and he was knocked out by the awkward landing after jumping with Rudy Gestede. All Liverpool fans will no doubt wish him a speedy recovery.
LCB) Dejan Lovren – 6/10
The Croatian helped inspire another clean-sheet, and hopefully that will be another boost to his confidence. Lovren has been steadily improving since his return to the side earlier this year, and continued that trend here.
DM) Emre Can – 5/10
The German looked a little bit off the pace today, and struggled to cope with playing Joe Allen’s combative role in holding midfield. However, we should be quick to forgive the 21-year-old, who has been magnificent over the last 20 games.
CM) Jordan Henderson – 7/10
Was forced to drop deeper to help out his midfield, and Liverpool missed him playing in a more advanced role. On a more positive not, he showed off his improving passing vision again today, always looking likely to create something. Another decent showing from the captain.
RM) Lazar Markovic – 6/10 (Balotelli – 59′)
Played one exquisite ball through to Adam Lallana, who might have opened the scoring when he instead fired wide of the mark, but there was not enough of those moments from the Serbian, who was withdrawn on the hour mark.
LM) Raheem Sterling – 6/10
Looked a little bit lost playing so drastically out of position, but did a solid job for the team, as was requested by his manager. Definitely more of a threat playing in a central role, either up front or just behind a central striker.
AM) Adam Lallana – 5/10
A disappointing day for the England international, who has been so good recently. He struggled to influence the game today, and other than being brought down for a potential penalty, rarely looked a threat to Rovers.
AM) Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
Not quite at his best, but still did enough to stand out. His fast footwork in the second-half almost created a truly sensational goal, until he was crowded out by Rovers defenders. He needed more help.
ST) Daniel Sturridge – 6/10
Might have had a second-half penalty, but was otherwise kept quiet by an impressive defensive effort from Blackburn. A couple of nice touches, but still not as clinical as he was prior to his injury lay-off.
Subs:
1) Kolo Toure – 7 – Did everything right at the back and was unlucky not to score, hitting the post with a header and having a second effort ruled out for offside.
2) Mario Balotelli – 6 – A couple of encouraging moments, but needed to get more involved in the game.
