Mohamed Salah’s early goal helped Liverpool to maintain their perfect European record (Image: GETTY)
maintained their perfect record in the with a deserved win over Lille in their penultimate league stage match.
The Reds took a while to get going but eventually cranked up the tempo and were rewarded with all three points despite overcoming a scare to claim victory.
opened the scoring in the first half, latching onto a perfect through ball from Curtis Jones and curling past the goalkeeper from the edge of the box.
Lille were reduced to ten men on the hour mark when Aissa Mandi was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Luis Diaz. Minutes later, they equalised against the run of play when Jonathan David stabbed home from close range.
It did not take long for to restore their advantage, though, with Harvey Elliott finding the net via a wicked deflection to score what proved to be the winner.
The result means the Reds will only need a point against PSV next week to secure top spot in the league table.
Express Sport provides a full rundown of the player ratings from tonight’s victory…
Harvey Elliott scored the winner from long range with the help of a deflection (Image: GETTY)
Liverpool player ratings vs Lille
Alisson Becker – 6
Had little to do in the opening 45 minutes with Lille struggling to offer an attacking threat. Could not have done much about David’s goal, with the vast majority of blame falling on his defenders.
Conor Bradley – 5
Was caught out of position a few times in defence. Made a couple of strong forward runs but was beaten far too easily in the build-up to Lille’s goal. Not his best game.
Jarell Quansah – 6
Kept his cool under pressure to help beat the press with some clever passing. Stayed strong at the back and did the basics well. A steady showing.
Virgil van Dijk – 6
Did his defensive duties well enough and looked mostly comfortable throughout. Constantly shouted and organised his back line well. Solid as usual.
Kostas Tsimikas – 6
Nicked the ball away from Jonathan David with a well-timed challenge to start the move which led to ‘s opener. Failed to cover himself in glory with some questionable defending for the equaliser, but otherwise did well.
Ryan Gravenberch – 6
Used his positional sense to cut out passing lanes and regain possession for the Reds. Kept his side ticking in the first half despite not playing at his brilliant best. Replaced at the break.
Curtis Jones – 7
Played an excellent one-touch pass to feed Salah for the opening goal. Picked up a knock just before the break and was taken off at half-time. Hopefully nothing too serious as he played well.
Don’t miss… [GOSSIP]
Dominik Szoboszlai – 5
Struggled to pick the right passes at times and gave the ball away more often than he would have liked. Ran around a lot without having much to show for his efforts. Failed to get close enough to David in the build-up to his goal. Underwhelming.
– 7
Opened the scoring with an intelligent finish over the goalkeeper from the edge of the box. Almost doubled his tally before the interval but narrowly missed the target. Led the show in attack, as he has been doing on a weekly basis.
Luis Diaz – 6
Struggled to get into the game but eventually found his rhythm and showed a few glimpses of brilliance. Was unlucky not to get an assist when he played Salah through just before the break. Replaced for the final 15 minutes.
Darwin Nunez – 6
Pressed well enough to keep Lille’s defenders on their toes. Worked hard to make things happen, running his socks off in the final third. Found the net in the dying seconds from point-blank range but was marginally offside.
Substitutes
Harvey Elliott – 6
Came on for the second half and made a nuisance of himself in the final third. Got the winner via a heavy deflection with a speculative effort from range.
Alexis Mac Allister – 6
Was introduced at the break and got himself involved at both ends. Pulled off a solid block to deny Lille in the closing stages.
Wataru Endo – 6
Came on after Lille’s goal and did his job well enough, keeping the ball moving in the middle of the pitch.
Federico Chiesa – 6
Looked lively and nearly scored late on but was denied by a strong save.
– n/a
A late introduction.