Liverpool miss out on the FA Cup final after defeat at Wembley…
Liverpool 1-2 Aston Villa – Philippe Coutinho scored a wonderfully-worked opening goal, but it wasn’t enough for the Reds, who were eventually beaten by strikes from Christian Benteke and Fabian Delph.
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Steven Gerrard had a header cleared off the line and Mario Balotelli saw a goal incorrectly ruled out for offside in stoppage time as the Reds chased an equaliser that just would’t come.
Read the full Liverpool player ratings below:
GK) Simon Mignolet – 6/10
Tipped over Charles N’Zogbia’s shot early on. His positioning for Benteke’s opener might have been better but there was little he could do about what proved to be the winner from Delph. It was otherwise a quiet afternoon.
RCB) Emre Can – 6/10
Rampaged forward well from the back, particularly after Rodgers chose to switch to a four-man defence, allowing the German to push down the right-hand flank. One of the cornerstones that next season must be built around.
CB) Martin Skrtel – 6/10
Looked a little shaky on his return from a three-match suspension but in truth did little wrong. The Slovakian had quite a job to contain Benteke and for the most part did it well. He’ll be sorely disappointed not to have done more.
LCB) Dejan Lovren – 5/10
Started well, getting an important toe to deny Benteke as he looked to latch onto a pass from N’Zogbia. Caught out for the second goal and wildly lashed over with almost the final kick of the game as he tried a ‘Gerrard moment’.
CM) Joe Allen – 5/10 (Johnson – 78′)
Blazed over early on but otherwise contributed very little. Was withdrawn in the final stages to allow Can, who had been getting forward well from the back, to push further forward into midfield and have a greater influence.
CM) Jordan Henderson – 6/10
Sent in several dangerous crosses but ultimately needed to contribute more. Perhaps the midfield, with three out and out central players, is too busy for him to have a major influence, as he’s usually the man doing the running.
RM) Lazar Markovic – 5/10 (Balotelli – 46′)
He had a very quiet game that was once again ended at half-time by Rodgers. He was not helped by our constant changes in formation during the first period but it’s hard not to think about how low his confidence must be.
LM) Alberto Moreno – 6/10 (Lambert – 90′)
Great tackle to deny Benteke a third in the closing stages. He dealt well with being continually shifted up and down the left flank and should at least be able to hold his head high over this one. Still needs to improve though.
AM) Steven Gerrard – 4/10
Not a good day. The captain was anonymous for much of the afternoon, coming to the party late on with a header that was cleared off the line. There will be no fairytale ending for Gerrard, who must now be eager for LA.
AM) Philippe Coutinho – 7/10
Excellent performance the Brazilian – scored the goal and caused plenty of problems. Worked hard, doing plenty of running off the ball and looked more committed than anyone to getting us back into the game. Unfair on him.
ST) Raheem Sterling – 6/10
Struggled to influence the game. Played the pass for our goal but in all honesty did little else. On a day when his pace and direct running should have been the decisive factor, it was instead a case of what might have been.
Subs:
1) Mario Balotelli – 5/10 – Had a goal ruled out wrongly for offside but was otherwise frustratingly quiet.
2) Glen Johnson – 5/10 – It seems a strange decision to introduce him but he had little time to make a difference.
3) Rickie Lambert – 5/10 – Thrown on for the final few minutes.
