Liverpool 0-0 Real Madrid: Player ratings as stalemate dumps Reds out

15 April 2021 00:10

Liverpool's poor finishing cost them as they were unable to find a way past Real Madrid at Anfield on Wednesday night and were dumped out of the Champions League 3-1 on aggregate.

The Reds flew out of the blocks and Thibaut Courtois twice had to rescue his side with good saves from Mohamed Salah and James Milner, though they were fired a warning shot shortly after as Karim Benzema struck the post.

The Reds began to get a grip on the game as the clock ticked towards half-time and Salah was yet again culpable of missing a gilt-edged chance before Georginio Wijnaldum missed an even better one - it was already beginning to look like one of those nights for Jurgen Klopp's men.

Liverpool continued to push for an opener but they spurned chance after chance and were eventually forced to admit defeat as they bowed out at the last eight stage.

That's the match highlights out of the way, now to those Liverpool and Real Madrid player ratings...

LIVERPOOL PLAYER RATINGS

1. Goalkeeper & defenders

Ozan Kabak runs away from Karim Benzema | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Alisson (GK) - 6/10 - Made a big save from Vinicius Junior to keep his side in with a sniff of advancing to semi-final.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (RB) - 6/10 - Surged forward down the right time and time again but some of the passes into him just weren't up to standard.

Nathaniel Phillips (CB) - 7/10 - Looked very impressive stepping into midfield in the second half.

Ozan Kabak (CB) - 5/10 - Shaky early on and had to pull out a smart block to stop Luka Modric capitalising on his poor clearance. Hooked in the second half as Liverpool went in search of the opener.

Andy Robertson (LB) - 6/10 - His usual self down the left, bombing forward and trying to make things happen - it just wasn't to be.

2. Midfielders

Georginio Wijnaldum chases Federico Valverde | Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

Fabinho (DM) - 5/10 - Crunched Casemiro in the first half in the battle of the Brazilian midfielders. Recycled possession well but never looked like picking out the kind of pass his side needed.

Georginio Wijnaldum (CM) - 4/10 - Didn't have the impact you'd expect on big occasions like this and fired a glorious opportunity over the bar just before half-time.

James Milner (CM) - 5/10 - Great effort in the first half almost found the top corner but he struggled to impact the game after that before being taken off in the second half.

3. Forwards

Mohamed Salah had some great opportunities on the night | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Mohamed Salah (RW) - 5/10 - Really should have put his side ahead on the night but was denied by Courtois, then spurned another great chance on the stroke of half-time.

Roberto Firmino (ST) - 5/10 - Had a glorious opportunity to play Trent Alexander-Arnold in but misplaced a simple pass. Not the kind of display Liverpool needed from their frontman.

Sadio Mane (LW) - 5/10 - Up against a makeshift right-back in
Federico Valverde he should have had a field day but he struggled at times.

4. Substitutes

Thiago Alcantara (CM) - 6/10

Diogo Jota (ST) - 6/10

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (CM) - N/A

Xherdan Shaqiri (LW) - N/A

REAL MADRID PLAYER RATINGS

5. Goalkeeper & defenders

Thibaut Courtois made some big saves | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Thibaut Courtois (GK) - 7/10 - Superb saves to deny Salah and Milner early on. Not given as much work to do late on as he might have expected.

Federico Valverde (RB) - 6/10 - Asked to fill in at right-back in the absence of Lucas Vazquez who picked up an injury against Barcelona and he did a decent job considering.

Eder Militao (CB) - 7/10 - Did well to marshal Roberto Firmino and never really broke a sweat on the night.

Nacho Fernandez (CB) - 7/10 - Won a couple of crucial headers as Liverpool desperately tried to create an opening with the clock ticking down.

Ferland Mendy (LB) - 5/10 - Didn't surge forward as we've become used to and he was lucky Salah's finishing let him down after losing the Egyptian a couple of times.

6. Midfielders

Casemiro made a very rash challenge on James Milner in the first half | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Casemiro (DM) - 6/10 - On the receiving end of a poor challenge from Fabinho in the first half and picked himself up before completely wiping Milner out in retaliation.

Toni Kroos (CM) - 7/10 - Cool as you like. Didn't have the kind of possession he's used to but used what he had well and stopped Liverpool creating any real pressure.

Luka Modric (CM) - 7/10 - Made the home team look daft at times with simple drops of the shoulder that left them closer to Goodison Park than Anfield.

7. Forwards

Karim Benzema did a good job of linking up play with the midfield | Michael Regan/Getty Images

Marco Asensio (RW) - 5/10 - A bit of an anonymous performance. Made a couple of decent runs in behind but wasn't picked out by his teammates.

Karim Benzema (ST) - 7/10 - Dropped into midfield to link up play and feed Real's rapid wingers. Helped keep hold of the ball to allow his side to move further up the pitch.

Vinicius Junior (LW) - 6/10 - Far from the player we saw in the first leg last week but was still a threat on the break.

8. Substitutes

Alvaro Odriozola (RB) - 6/10

Rodrygo (RW) - 6/10

Isco (AM) - N/A

Source: 90min