Liverpool
Simon Mignolet – 5
Wasn’t decisive enough and didn’t inspire confidence – wasn’t called upon much but when he was he didn’t deliver – was fortunate with West Brom’s disallowed third.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5
Made a couple of useful runs forward during the first-half but was more restricted in the second – did produce one or two good crosses in the final minutes as Liverpool searched for an equaliser.
Joel Matip – 6
Was non-existent as West Brom waltzed through to goal to turn the tie around – looked overawed and shaky throughout and he will be the first to admit it was a poor defensive display.
Virgil van Dijk – 5
Did not defend with the assuredness and character that was expected – made a handful of errors in dangerous situations and was sloppy in possession.
Alberto Moreno – 6
Played much deeper in the second-half such was the threat of West Brom on the counter-attack but didn’t hugely impress on his return to the team.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5
Quality in possession was lacking and all too often didn’t capitalise on poor West Brom defending – was one of the three players who went off just after the hour mark.
Emre Can – 5
In recent matches Can has run the game for Liverpool but on Saturday he was overrun by it – lost possession too many times and didn’t dictate the play as he is capable.
Georginio Wijnaldum – 5
Picked up a slight knock in the opening minute and never moved freely from then on – wasn’t intense enough and the match rather passed him by.
Mohamed Salah – 6
Scored Liverpool’s second but struggled to engineer enough space to create in and around the visitors’ area – kept Dawson and Evans on their toes.
Sadio Mane – 5
Like Salah, he failed to really create anything in the tightly packed West Brom area – did grow into the game in the second-half but was also taken off.
Roberto Firmino – 7
Scored a beautiful chip within the opening five minutes before missing a penalty half-way through the first-half which really could have changed the outcome of the match.
West Brom
Ben Foster – 8
Made an error early on that led to Firmino’s opener but once that was out of the way it was a near perfect performance – assured when claiming crosses and demonstrated his reflexes with a number of fine saves.
Allan Nyom – 7
Kept Mane pretty quiet on the right and stuck to the basics before switching to left-back and limiting the influence of Salah.
Craig Dawson – 7
Scored a headed goal which was disallowed – appeared quite nervy in defence at times and hacked at some clearances but saw ought the victory from right-back.
Jonny Evans – 6
Partly to blame for Firmino’s opener and, like Dawson, wasn’t very sturdy in the Albion defence – if it is to be his final performance in blue and white, it wasn’t his best.
Kieran Gibbs – 6
Went off on 37 minutes with a hamstring injury after playing fairly well – his replacement Hegazi impressed in the second-half.
Jake Livermore – 8
Tucked in for most of the second-half to make a West Brom back six – was confident when going forward down the right-side.
Gareth Barry – 7
Played well and screened the back four excellently – was taken off with 20 minutes to play after giving his all.
Grzegorz Krychowiak – 8
A very good display from the Pole – dominated the midfield and was involved in many of West Brom’s attacks – unlike the other midfielders on the pitch he thrived in the tight spaces.
Chris Brunt – 7
Like Livermore on the right, he blocked the flow of traffic and tucked in during the second-half – also played a number of fine balls to the West Brom attackers.
Hal Robson-Kanu – 7
Was a nuisance to the Liverpool defence until he was forced off just before half-time with an injury – played a major role in the first two Albion goals.
Jay Rodriguez – 8
A fine display from the striker – produced a superb drive to equalise for the visitors and neatly finished to put them ahead – has scored five goals since the end of December and looks to be relishing his opportunity.
