Watford v Liverpool ratings: Mane and Salah shine in draw
Watford and Liverpool played out an entertaining 3-3 draw in their opening Premier League clash at Vicarage Road on Saturday and we rate the players.
Miguel Britos’ 94th-mute strike earned the home side a share of the spoils after Liverpool had twice come from behind to lead in what was a thrilling encounter.
WATFORD:
Heurelho Gomes: Made a couple of decent stops but was rash in giving the penalty away. 5
Daryl Janmaat: Started the game brightly but was forced off early on through injury. 6
Younes Kaboul: Struggled with an injury in the second half and had his hands full with Liverpool’s in to out wide men. 6
Miguel Britos: Like Kaboul, he was constantly kept busy by Mane and Salah cutting in but grabbed the all-important equaliser. 6
Jose Holebas: Showed decent pace at times and had a real battle with Salah throughout. 6
Abdoulaye Doucoure: Worked his socks off in the midfield engine room and deserved his goal. 7
Nathaniel Chalobah: Lively display and competed well with Liverpool’s three-man midfield. 7
Nordin Amrabat: Plenty of ebery but a lack of quality let him down. 6
Tom Cleverley: Industrious an showed some nice touches throughout. 7
Roberto Pereyra: Solid display bebfore limping off at the start of the second half. 6
Stefano Okaka: Grabbed his early goal and was lively in the first half before being replaced by new boy Gray. 7
Substitutes
Kiko Femenia (for Janmaat, 17): Did a decent job on his Premier League debut. 6
Richarlison (for Pereyra, 49): Looks a talent but will take time to develop. 6
Andre Gray (for Okaka, 63): Looked sharp when he came on and should prove a great buy for the Hornets. 6
LIVERPOOL
Simon Mignolet: Still does not look convincing on set-pieces. The jury remains out. 5
Trent Alexander-Arnold: Didn’t let his side down and got forward when he could. 6
Joel Matip: Better than his central defensive partner but still not commanding enough for his size. 6
Dejan Lovren: Struggled to deal with set pieces again and was worried by Gray’s pace when he came on. 6
Alberto Moreno: Decent display, always looks better going forward than back. 6
Jordan Henderson: Did not shield the back four with as much authority as normal and still looks a little short of fitness. 6
Emre Can: Lovely touch to set up Mane’s thunderbolt and looked lively. 7
Georginio Wijnaldum: Did not have his shooting boots on after getting in some good positions. 6
Mohamed Salah: Started nervously but got better and better and deserved his goal. 7
Sadio Mane: Took his goal superbly and was a constant threat. Reds fans will be thrilled to see him back. 7
Roberto Firmino: Always involved but found it congested in the midfield battle as he dropped deeper to get involved. 7
Substitutes
Divock Origi (for Firmino, 81): Tried to give Liverpool more of a focal point. 6
James Milner (for Salah, 86): No real time to make an impact. 6
Joe Gomez (for Alexander-Arnold, 90): No time to make an impact. 6