Jurgen Klopp’s men failed to hold on to a tw0-goal lead at Hawthorns as they returned with just a point from their trip to West Brom earlier today. Needing just six points to ensure UCL qualification, Liverpool took an early lead through Danny Ings, and went two up in the second half, thanks to Mo Salah’s ice-cool finishing.
But their defensive frailties came back to haunt them as two goals in the space of 10 minutes from Jake Livermore and Salomon Rondon saw the game end all square.
West Brom have very little chance of avoiding the drop while Liverpool can still drop out of the top four if they have a spectacular drop in form as Chelsea are eight points behind and have a game in hand.
Klopp will have his eyes on the semi-final clash against AS Roma and will hope his side can take this result out of their mind quickly. Here are the player ratings for Liverpool in this 2-2 draw:
Loris Karius (5)
Made a couple of important saves but found himself in no man’s land for Rondon’s equaliser.
Alberto Moreno (4)
Started off by giving Phillips too much space to run and slowly went on to gift the ball away far too often, inviting pressure on his backline.
Ragnar Klavan (5)
Struggled against the industry of Rondon and was second best in most duels late in the game.
Virgil van Dijk (8)
The best defender on the field in the game, van Dijk won most of what was thrown at him and also made a couple of blocks to keep his side on top.
Joe Gomez (4)
Too lethargic in possession and at fault for giving away the foul that led to Rondon’s goal.
Jordan Henderson (6)
Was decent with his passing but was not adventurous enough to give his side an advantage.
James Milner (7)
Yet another energetic performance from the 32-year old who found loads of space in and around the box, keeping the pressure on West Brom.
Georginio Wijnaldum (5)
Like Henderson did nothing fancy with his passing and was hardly visible in the second half. Did well to hold up the cross from Mane, that led to Ings’ early goal.
Sadio Mane (6)
Struggled to get into the game as much as he would have liked but played a role in the build-up to Ings’ goal and did well to keep West Brom honest for most game.
Mohamed Salah (6)
Like Mane found very little space and time for the most game but made sure he found the back of the net with the best chance that fell to him.
Danny Ings (6)
Was full of running all game and will be ecstatic with his first goal in almost 1000 days. Should have had another, where he failed to beat Foster from close range.
Substitutes
Roberto Firmino (6)
Played a role in the build-up to Salah’s goal and added some attacking urgency into the side late in the game.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (6)
Picked up the assist for Salah’s goal and did well with his direct running for most of the second half.
Dejan Lovren (N/A)
