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Feb 08, 2026 13:37-05:00

Liverpool player ratings vs Man City: What was Alisson thinking?! Goalkeeper's rush of blood proves costly while Hugo Ekitike has a shocker as Dominik Szoboszlai's stunner goes to waste

Liverpool threw away victory in the final 10 minutes against Manchester City as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat on Sunday. Dominik Szoboszlai's stunning free-kick put the Reds in front in the second half, but late goals from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland turned the game on its head as the Reds lost ground to Manchester United and Chelsea in the top-four race.

Alisson Becker had to be on his toes to dive at Haaland's feet early on, while he also kept out another shot from the Premier League's top scorer midway through the opening 45 minutes as City forced Arne Slot's side back without creating too many clear-cut chances.

Liverpool, however, were able to respond in the second half, and Hugo Ekitike should twice have opened the scoring when he first curled a shot wide before missing the target with a header after Mohamed Salah found him in acres of space.

Antoine Semenyo, who scored twice at Anfield with Bournemouth on the opening day of the season, fired straight at Alisson during a rare foray forward from City, and it needed something special from Szoboszlai to break the deadlock as he unleashed a wicked effort that curled away from Gianluigi Donnarumma and crashed in off the post.

The Reds could not hold out, however, as Bernardo stabbed home from close range after Haaland headed the ball into his path before a rush of blood from Alisson saw him foul Matheus Nunes, and Haaland made no mistake from the penalty spot in stoppage time. Even then there was time for Alexis Mac Allister to fire a deflected shot towards the top corner, only for Donnarumma to claw it away, before Szoboszlai was sent off for pulling back Haaland while Rayan Cherki's pass from inside his own half dribbled towards the empty Liverpool goal, with Alisson was forward for a Liverpool corner.

GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Anfield...

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Goalkeeper & Defence
Alisson Becker (4/10):
Did well smother Haaland early on and showed good hands to hold onto a powerful Semenyo shot. Had a couple of shaky moments with his feet before foolishly fouling Nunes for the penalty when he was going nowhere.
Dominik Szoboszlai (7/10):
His one-on-one defending left a lot to be desired but he battled well and showed some quality in possession before unleashing another unstoppable free-kick to break the deadlock. However, his inexperience of playing right-back meant it was he who played Bernardo onside for the equaliser. Roller-coaster day ended with him being sent off at the last.
Ibrahima Konate (6/10):
Stepped in to diffuse a number of City attacks, but was too late to stop Haaland from winning the header that set up City's goal.
Virgil van Dijk (6/10):
Did pick up a booking for a foul on Haaland but otherwise kept the big Norwegian shackled.
Milos Kerkez (7/10):
Excellent defensively in dealing with his former Bournemouth team-mate Semenyo. Now needs to start producing in attack while remaining just as solid.

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Midfield
Ryan Gravenberch (6/10):
Sloppy in possession early on while Bernardo found pockets of space behind him, but grew into the game well and caused problems with his dribbling from deep.
Alexis Mac Allister (7/10):
Didn't see enough of the ball, especially in the first half but played plenty of eye-catching passes when he did pick up possession, including an excellent through-ball for Salah that went to waste. Almost found a late equaliser, only to be denied by Donnarumma.
Florian Wirtz (7/10):
Some of his touches were superb and he looked the likeliest to create chances for Liverpool. Unfortunately, those in front of him let him down.
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Attack
Mohamed Salah (5/10):
Got into some dangerous positions and caused problems with his pace, but his first touch, final pass and shots were all below the level required.
Hugo Ekitike (4/10):
Did plenty of pressing but didn't get involved enough in the first half. Then proceeded to waste Liverpool's two best chances, most notably when he headed Salah's cross wide.
Cody Gakpo (4/10):
Another poor performance to add to his catalogue this season. Rarely threatened Nunes and too often strayed offside. Frustrating.

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Subs & Manager
Curtis Jones (6/10):
Didn't offer all that much after coming on in the aftermath of the equaliser.
Federico Chiesa (N/A):
Caused a bit of chaos after coming on in stoppage time.
Arne Slot (5/10):
Whatever he said at half-time worked very well, but then waited too long to make changes to shore things up and paid the penalty.

Goalkeeper & Defence

Midfield

Attack

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Subs & Manager