Due to a poor performance, Liverpool was on the verge of suffering their worst Premier League defeat since the Roy Hodgson era and the historic loss to Blackpool; nevertheless, the day was saved by the return of Luis Diaz.
Liverpool 1-1 Luton Town
Sunday, November 5, 2023, Premier League, Kenilworth Road
Goals: Diaz 90+5′; Chong 80′
Alisson – 6 (out of 10)
Ali had a mostly viewing brief, save from an early rolling shot that was aimed directly at him, so he was probably wondering what all the excitement was about in the first half.
was forced to make a huge save from Morris immediately after the hour had passed, but was unable to do much as they were eventually exposed on the counterattack. To keep things square, there was a massive stoppage time parry.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 4
Despite blocking a few dribbles and attempted passes inside, he was unable to claim victory in that match since he had his hands full defensively against Chiedoze Ogbene.
Nunez was limited in his attacking contribution, save for one excellent ball that set him up for a goal against the bar.
Easily defeated by Ogbene on the run for Luton’s major opportunity shortly after the hour, with subpar set pieces the entire way.
Ibrahima Konate – 5
Things got going well in the beginning with his magnificent charge through roughly eight trials, but in the end, he was unable to find a way through. Still, very Joel Matip of him.
A little too many fouls here and there, and occasionally too aggressive. But sometimes he had to be quick and rough to handle Morris. missed a late header that would have tied the score.
Virgil van Dijk – 6 – Man of the Match
dominating in the air while facing a flurry of long passes and deliveries. Although there was a successful push forward to try and get the game going, the skipper was mainly, understandably, focused on keeping the door closed at the other end.
didn’t really do anything wrong, but right before Luton scored, he felt like he had a penalty.
Joe Gomez – 5
For the first time this season, he started a game suited up at left defence; before the year is up, we might see him here a few more times.
provided a respectable outlet in the first half, rushing ahead of the play when he could, though he didn’t, of course, provide a direct pass into the box from that side.
Naturally, got switched around a few of times after the restart and substituted in for the triple change.
His use as left-back made Liverpool far too limited.
Alexis Mac Allister – 4
He was taunted by the home crowd after getting his eye poked, was taken out by a subpar challenge shortly before the half, and ended the game with an airborne half volley.
To cap off an extremely bad afternoon’s effort, he was booked for a foul after the restart for losing the ball himself. He will now be suspended against Brentford the following week.
Obviously not a No. 6, as this match demonstrates.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 5
couldn’t really control much in the first half, with the Reds and Hatters being at least equal in terms of run and fighting.
He attempted to pull wide or drop deep once or twice in an attempt to get on the ball and produce from range, but overall, this was his worst performance since signing. While it was still unexpected to see him replaced, he really had nothing to complain about.
His most famous action was to punt a ball out of the stadium while a Luton guy was hurt.
Ryan Gravenberch – 6
Early in the game, he was rather marginalised, but after a big run, he defeated two players and gave Jota an opportunity.
Although he was a little more creative and aggressive in his forward passes than his midfield colleagues, he still had trouble making an impression for the full ninety minutes of play. Ten minutes remained to save a left-footed shot.
Mohamed Salah – 5
Mostly peripheral in the first half, kept wide in search of space and had a few running opportunities at his man.
Had a terrific start when, following a badly cleared set-piece that dropped invitingly to him, he half-volleyed miles off target.
Mo had a difficult 90 minutes because, except from that, he didn’t really get anything done for him. He has been assigned to create a lot more this term.
Darwin Nunez – 5
From the beginning, it was a shooting mission. Within the first fifteen minutes of the match, he struck the crossbar and forced the goalie into two saves.
This season, he has made four attempts at hitting the woodwork; no other Premier League player has made more than two.
Even while his attempts weren’t always great, he was at least creating moments in the first half, something no one else was doing.
However, it’s also simple to see why people get frustrated with him sometimes: even though he was offside, he still had a three-yard window to score instead of blazing over.
Diogo Jota – 5
had one chance to score just after the break, forcing a near-post save, but for extended periods of time, didn’t really provide anything. Just before halftime, there was a strong run down the left, but it didn’t result in a chance.
Not much more happened—some strong running, a few of fouls.
Substitutes
Harvey Elliott (on for Szoboszlai, 66′) – 7 – Plenty of energy but no cutting edge – then delivered the brilliant cross for the equaliser.
Kostas Tsimikas (on for Gomez, 66′) – 5 – Gave us a crossing outlet but didn’t deliver a whole lot.
Cody Gakpo (on for Jota, 66′) – 5 – Could have scored within minutes but couldn’t control his close-range effort.
Luis Diaz (on for Gravenberch, 82′) – 10 – Made his return to action, scored a 95th-minute equaliser. Have to love him.
Subs not used: Names here Kelleher, Matip, Quansah, Endo, Doak
Jurgen Klopp – 5
The manager rotated his starting lineup, making a few expected returnees and one or two bold selections, such as putting Gomez at left back.
Even though nothing went wrong, he can’t have been satisfied with the result either; the Reds had few genuine open-play opportunities, occasionally found it difficult to match the hosts’ physicality, and nearly trailed after an hour.
That was sufficient for Klopp to respond with a triple substitution, but other than appearing to be hoping for a magical moment, the team was lacking in anything. There were no meaningful patterns to expose a resolute defence battling for its life, and there was no obvious shift in strategy other than a minor adjustment to leave two up top.
Without a doubt, this would have been a humiliating loss for both Klopp and Liverpool, and only Diaz, of all people, managed to deflect some extremely serious issues and headlines.
