PSV 3-2 Liverpool: Player Ratings and Match Highlights

PSV 3-2 Liverpool: Player Ratings and Match Highlights

 

UEFA Champions League

 

Liverpool suffered their first defeat in the UEFA Champions League in their final group phase match, after Ricardo Pepi was credited with the winning goal for PSV Eindhoven. Nonetheless, with Barcelona and Atalanta drawing 2-2, the Reds still finished top of the group phase.

 

Arne Slot opted to make a flurry of changes to his starting XI, with starts for Jayden Danns, James McConnell and Federico Chiesa, among others.

 

The game took a while to come alive, with the two sides looking fairly evenly matched. But, just before the half-hour mark, PSV defender Joey Veerman had a slight lapse of concentration when receiving the ball in the box, and his loose touch saw the ball get away from him. That allowed Chiesa to get in between the defender and the ball, and Veerman brought him down with the referee having no choice but to point to the penalty spot. Cody Gakpo was there to fire home against his former team to open the scoring.

 

However, Liverpool wouldn’t hold their lead for long, with Johan Bakayoko cutting the ball back to send two Reds defenders flying, before firing home with power past Caoimhin Kelleher’s goal.

 

In the space of 10 minutes, there was a third goal. Wataru Endo’s ball over the top found Gakpo, who shielded the ball well and found Chiesa. The Italian fired at goal, but forced the save from Walker Benitez, though the keeper could only parry the ball into the path of Harvey Elliott, who slotted home from four yards out.

 

But Slot’s men would hold their lead for just six minutes, after Endo was forced off the ball in midfield with it finding its way to Veerman, who played the ball through to Ismael Saibari to fire high above Kelleher and into the roof of the net and level the score once again.

 

PSV were not done yet, though, and on the brink of half-time, they found themselves in front, after Ricardo Pepi’s cross into the box took a deflection off of Conor Bradley and all the way through into the goal – meaning the home team finished the half leading 3-2.

 

The second half started very much like the first, with neither side really coming close to goal. But just three minutes into his Liverpool debut, 18-year-old Amara Nallo was sent off after bringing down Bakayoko, who was bearing down on goal as the furthest man forward. With little action after that, PSV prevented Liverpool from finishing the group stages with a 100 per cent record.

 

PSV vs. Liverpool – Match Statistics

 

PSV

 

Statistic

 

Liverpool

 

53

 

Possession (%)

 

47

 

12

 

Shots

 

9

 

4

 

Shots on Target

 

5

 

2

 

Corners

 

3

 

3

 

Saves

 

1

 

2

 

Yellow Cards

 

3

 

0

 

Red Cards

 

1

 

Match Highlights

 

PSV Player Ratings

 



 

GK – Walker Benitez – 5/10

 

Commanded his goal well, and made some good saves. However, his parry was the reason why Liverpool were able to score a second goal.

 

RB – Rick Karsdorp – 5/10

 

Struggled to contain Gakpo down the left-hand side, and then had to deal with Chiesa after he was moved over to that side. His long balls were, for the most part, accurate.

 

CB – Olivier Boscagli – 6.5/10

 

A solid outing for the captain. Commanding in his defence, and composed in his passing.

 

CB – Armando Obispo – 7/10

 

Was the better of the two central defenders, and appeared everywhere, making plenty of tackles, interceptions and blocks.

 

LB – Mauro Junior – 6/10

 

Had the difficult task of having to defend Chiesa for the most part. Attempted to dribble the ball up the field, but this didn’t yield much success.

 

CM – Tygo Land – 5/10

 

Was fairly quiet in the middle of the park, and allowed his opponents to dribble past him. Was caught in possession often.

 

CM – Joey Veerman – 6.5/10

 

His lapse of concentration gave away the penalty, though he looked to make amends later on in the game by assisting Saibari to level the score at 2-2. However, he made another error by getting booked for kicking the ball away.

 

RM – Johan Bakayoko – 7.5/10

 

His sublime piece of skill hoodwinked two Reds defenders and saw them taken out of the contest, before shifting back onto his right side to send the ball rifling into the net. Played some key passes to his teammates too.

 

ST – Ricardo Pepi – 7.5/10

 

Was perhaps slightly lucky to have been credited with PSV’s third goal after it took a deflection off of Conor Bradley. He also assisted the first goal to Bakayoko with his chest whilst he had his back to play.

 

ST – Guus Til – 6/10

 

Very influential when it came to his ground and aerial duels, whilst he got back and conducted his defensive duties well.

 

LW – Ismael Saibari – 6/10

 

Barely had any passes in the game, but came up trumps when it mattered most, scoring a neat goal from close range. Was dispossessed far too often, though.

 

Sub – Richard Ledezma – 5/10

 

Barely had a sniff of the ball, touching the ball single-digit times. Little-to-no impact on the game whatsoever.

 

Sub – Adamo Nagalo – 6/10

 

Completed all of his passes, but offered little else.

 

Sub – Couhaib Driouech – 5/10

 

Had just two touches in 15 minutes of action.

 

Sub – Luuk de Jong – 6/10

 

Posed an aerial threat when coming on. Brought a veteran presence and ensured his team finished the match having earned all three points.

 

Sub – Isaac Babadi – N/A

 

Came on in stoppage time.

 

Liverpool Player Ratings

 



 

GK – Caoimhin Kelleher – 6/10

 

None of PSV’s first three goals were that preventable, with him having no chance of saving their first. The second was hit at him at close range, and the third saw the deflection deceive everybody – both defenders and attackers – before it rolled into the net.

 

RB – Conor Bradley – 6/10

 

Took a while to get a firm grip on the game, but as time went on, he grew in confidence on both sides of the ball, making some good tackles, and offered a body in attack. Very unlucky to have contributed to PSV’s third goal with his deflection evading everybody on its way through.

 

CB – Andrew Robertson – 6/10

 

Deployed in a centre-back role tonight, and was handed the armband. Was dribbled past at times, but didn’t look too exposed. Played some great long balls over the top.

 

CB – Jarell Quansah – 5/10

 

Was made to sit on the floor by Bakayoko’s skill in the build-up to the second goal, whilst his failed clearance gifted the ball to PSV to create the third. Bit sloppy at times.

 

LB – Konstantinos Tsimikas – 6/10

 

Offered ball distribution from the left flank, though struggled to be consistent in finding a teammate. Provided aerial cover at times, and created some key passes.

 

CM – James McConnell – 6.5/10

 

Looked very confident on the ball, completing a high percentage of his passes. Also looked comfortable in both his ground and aerial duels. Covered his defensive duties well.

 

CM – Wataru Endo – 5.5/10

 

Lost possession in a dangerous area, which led to his team conceding their second goal of the night. Hit his long balls with accuracy.

 

CM – Harvey Elliott – 7/10

 

Saw lots of the ball throughout the contest, and put himself in the right position to score the second goal.

 

RW – Federico Chiesa – 7/10

 

Looked very lively in attack down the right-hand side. His sharpness off the ball won the penalty for the opener, whilst his shot at goal was parried for the second.

 

ST – Jayden Danns – 4.5/10

 

Hardly involved in the first half, playing just six passes. Had a blocked shot. The upside, he got some good experience on the biggest stage in Europe.

 

LW – Cody Gakpo – 6/10

 

Slotted the ball calmly from the spot past Benitez for the game’s opener, but had a fairly quiet outing by his standards. Held the ball up incredibly well in the build-up to the Reds’ second.

 

Sub – Tyler Morton – 6.5/10

 

Got stuck in straight away, and made a potentially goal-saving block to deny PSV a fourth.

 

Sub – Trey Nyoni – 5/10

 

Hardly saw the ball in his 25 minutes of action – ineffective.

 

Sub – Amara Nallo – 2/10

 

Was sent off three minutes into his Liverpool debut. Such a shame for the youngster but it was a nightmare debut.

 

Man of the Match

 

Ricardo Pepi (PSV)