Giorgio Mamardashvili (5)
Started in place of the injured Alisson and while there was little he could do about Gala’s opener, he was lucky to get away with completely misjudging a left-wing cross from Noa Lang. Made a decent save from Davinson Sanchez soon after but never looked convincing, particularly with the ball at his feet.
Joe Gomez (5)
Not a huge surprise to see him picked ahead of Frimpong for such a tough and physical encounter but he wasn’t particularly impressive defensively while his technical deficiencies were inevitably exposed going forward.
Ibrahima Konate (3)
The return of the calamitous version of Konate from the first half of the season. So lucky to get away with two atrocious attempted clearances — both of which should have resulted in goals for Osimhen — while his passing was terrible throughout.
Virgil van Dijk (4)
Made a timely interception to snuff out a very dangerous Gala break but caught in no man’s land for Davinson Sanchez’s headed chance and his booking for a needless foul on Gabriel Sara rather summed up a sloppy display overall.
Milos Kerkez (4)
Booked for a clumsy challenge on Sara in the first half so Slot wisely removed him from the fray midway through the second half, given he ran the risk of a red given his combative style of play.
Ryan Gravenberch (5)
Didn’t shy away from the fight and showed some lovely touches — but he never managed to bring the kind of control and composure to the proceedings that Liverpool so desperately required.
Alexis Mac Allister (5)
Never stopped scrapping but lost more duels than he won and his passing wasn’t great either. Also, really should have shot rather than passed after being picked out in the area early on.
Dominik Szoboszlai (5)
Played with plenty of energy and purpose but unable to exert any real influence over the game, with his most notable contributions a couple of decent strikes from distance.
Mohamed Salah (3)
After showing signs of life last week at Wolves, this was another painfully ineffective display from Liverpool’s Egyptian King. Didn’t muster a single shot and had one touch in the box before being rightly replaced by Jeremie Frimpong midway through the second half.
Hugo Ekitike (4)
An occasional threat with his pace and movement but just didn’t offer enough overall and when his big chance came, he failed to take it.
Florian Wirtz (4)
A welcome return to the starting line-up for the German but he really should have done better with Liverpool’s best chance of the first half, while he was also guilty of trying to be too clever at times. Liverpool really need Wirtz fully fit and firing for the second leg.
Andy Robertson (6)
Will no doubt have been frustrated by being dropped to the bench after his decisive display at Molineux on Friday and he did okay after coming on here for Kerkez.
Jeremie Frimpong (5)
Added some much-needed pace to Liverpool’s attack but was unable to make an impact.