Here are the player ratings as Liverpool fell to Tottenham 1-0 in a frustrating first leg performance in the League Cup.
GK Alisson Becker, 4.0
Alisson looked nervy on the ball from the start, and he has Virgil van Dijk to thank for sparing his blushes in what could have been one of the most disastrous goalkeeping mistakes of the tournament.
LB Kostas Tsimikas, 7.0
At this point, there’s no way Andrew Robertson is a superior player to Kostas Tsimikas, who was as solid as it gets on the left side of the Liverpool formation with three chances created and five combined tackles and interceptions.
CB Virgil van Dijk, 7.5
Led by example at the back with his customary world-class positioning, and he had one of the highlights of the night with an incredible block to save Alisson Becker from embarrassment.
CB Wataru Endo, 5.0
Came into the game for an injured Jarell Quansah, and while he didn’t make any glaring errors, he did have some spotty moments in his own half due to a failure to take enough initiative or ownership of loose balls.
It was an uncharacteristic display from Endo as a passer, too, as he didn’t make the best, progressive options for Liverpool. He shifted to midfield late in the game when Ibrahima Konate finally came on at center back.
RB Conor Bradley, 6.0
Conor Bradley led the team with four tackles, but there’s a reason why Liverpool sacrificed him for Trent Alexander-Arnold with one of their first subs of the match.
It goes beyond TAA’s pedigree. Bradley is a hard worker and already a very good defender at the Premier League level, having shut down Kylian Mbappe in the Champions League and now adding Son Heung-min to his list of attacking victims.
However, Bradley doesn’t offer enough on the other end, even if he did flash against Madrid, for example. The 21-year-old is still maturing with his pass selection and needs to do a better job of looking for and executing progressive passes before Liverpool can truly feel comfortable with him in the starting lineup.
CM Alexis Mac Allister, 5.0
In the battles in midfield but very much lacking in end product or even awareness inside the box, as he badly bungled two decent opportunities. The standards are high at Liverpool and the competition stiff in midfield, so this was a step back from the talented Argentinian.
CM Ryan Gravenberch, 6.0
He legitimately looks like the best player on the ball when Liverpool are in possession, and so much of what he brings to the table for the Reds goes well beyond the stat sheet.
However, this was a more average performance from the Dutch breakout star. He didn’t win possession enough in midfield, struggled in some transitions by Tottenham, and failed to meaningfully affect the game offensively.
CM Curtis Jones, 6.0
While Curtis Jones was decent defensively and lashed in one great cross in the second half that Darwin Nunez couldn’t quite handle, it was, like Gravenberch, a mediocre performance from Jones, who had more sloppy touches than usual.
LW Cody Gakpo, 7.0
Although Cody Gakpo was one of the first three players hooked by manager Arne Slot at the hour mark, the world-class Dutchman was the only real attacking threat for the Reds during this time.
He led the team with three chances created, producing some more fine deliveries from the left-hand side, and continued to get into threatening positions. Perhaps he should have done better with a curling effort, but, overall, Gakpo wasn’t the issue for the Liverpool attack.
CF Diogo Jota, 5.0
You can see the work rate and the attempts to get into the battles in midfield, but, at some point, Diogo Jota has to realize that his main strength and main job in the squad is to offer a goal threat at the striker position.
Jota didn’t do any of that against Tottenham, and when Liverpool were on the attacking end, he was nowhere to be found. The Portuguese international saved his rating by working so hard in duels, but there’s a reason why the Reds struggled offensively for an hour with him on the pitch.
RW Mohamed Salah, 4.0
Mohamed Salah will be badly disappointed with this performance. The 2024/25 Ballon d’Or favorite thus far and almost a guaranteed goal contributor per game, Salah looked anything like a superstar on Wednesday night.
He didn’t create nearly enough shooting opportunities for himself and was left isolated on the right side. Salah didn’t take enough initiative off the ball, and his chance creation was non-existent, in stark contrast to his otherwise excellent work this season.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He covered Real Madrid from 2019-2022 for The Real Champs as a site manager. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.