Liverpool vs Roma was a veritable rollercoaster ride for just as you thought the Reds had sealed it, the Italians came back roaring in the tie to keep their hopes alive in the UEFA Champions League.

Tuesday’s semi-final first leg  was everything it promised and more for the sides shared seven goals between them, with a nervy ending unlike any other leaving us wanting for more.

In the end Liverpool clinched it 5-2 and here are The Statesman’s player ratings from the European tie  at Anfield:

Liverpool

Loris Karius

Started off with a wobble, was lucky not to concede from Kolarov’s long-ranger but then grew into the game.

Not at fault for the first goal and can’t be blamed for going the wrong way in a penalty either.


Rating: 6/10

Trent Alexander-Arnold

Solid outing from the English full-back, even if he did waste a set-piece in a dangerous area.

Got booked towards the end of the first-half.


Rating: 7/10

Dejan Lovren

Missed a sitter, but was awful defensively towards the end.

Might just be dropped on the basis of this showing.

Lucky not to have conceded a penalty for an inadvertent handball in the first-half.


Rating: 5/10

Virgil van Dijk

Marshalled the defence fairly well for the first 80 minutes, but must take part of the blame for allowing Roma back in the tie.


Rating: 7/10

Andy Robertson

Sent in some excellent crosses into the box, would have got himself a couple of assists had his teammates not been so wasteful.


Rating: 7/10

James Milner

Decent game from the hardworking Englishman, even if his final pass was lacking at times.

Did give away a crucial penalty late in the tie, even thought it was clearly not deliberate.

Rating: 6/10

Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain

Unlucky to get injured while tackling Kolarov. Got subbed for Wijnaldum early on.


Rating: N/A

Jordan Henderson

Liverpool’s captain fantastic, right till the end.

Rating: 7/10

Sadio Mane

Missed a couple of sitters, but arguably made amends with his goal.

Troubled Roma’s backline with his powerful and direct running all game long.

Rating: 7/10

Roberto Firmino

Had it not been for a certain Egyptian, would definitely have got the Man of the Match award.

Worked his socks off, but crucially his end product was excellent.

Rating: 9/10

Mohamed Salah

Perfect.

That just about sums it up.

Two goals in the first-half and two assists in the second.

Good luck trying to decide which one was better.


Rating: 10/10

Substitutes

Georginio Wijnaldum

Despite his sudden introduction, looked at ease. Did miss an absolute gilt-edged chance though.

Rating: 7/10

Danny Ings

Replaced Salah for the final 15 minutes but hardly got any action.

Rating: 6/10

Ragnar Klavan

Brought on by Klopp to see the game out in the dying stages.

Rating: N/A

Roma

Alisson Becker

Never truly looked confident.

Dropped a routine cross and was lucky not to concede then.

His Brazil spot will be under threat if he keeps this up.

Rating: 4/10

Juan Jesus

Got booked early on, never truly recovered from then on.


Rating: 4/10

Kostas Manolas

Looked lost for most parts of the tie.

Rating: 5/10

Federico Fazio

The Spurs flop didn’t cover himself in glory on his return to England.

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Got an unnecessary caution too.

Rating: 4/10

Aleksandar Kolarov

Was bright and always looked to spring an attack, even if he didn’t get much joy in the end.

Unlucky to not have scored with a vicious effort in the opening stages.


Rating: 6/10

Kevin Strootman

The Dutch hardman struggled to keep up with Liverpool’s midfield but did a decent job overall.


Rating: 6/10

Daniele De Rossi

The Roma veteran and captain looked off the pace and was rightly taken off in the second-half.


Rating: 5/10

Alessandro Florenzi

Not the best showing from the Italian wing-back.


Rating: 5/10

Cengiz Under

Not sure if he’s worth the hype on the basis of this performance.

Failed to justify his start over Schick.

Rating: 5/10

Radja Nainggolan

Okay game from Belgian, but much, much more is expected of him.

Did get the assist for Dzeko’s strike and it was his shot that Milner handled.

Rating: 6/10

Edin Dzeko

Was on the peripheries of the entire game but showed great composure to put away the one solid chance he got.

Probably could have done better afterwards though.


Rating: 6/10

Substitutes


Patrick Schick

Average showing from the half-time substitution. Took far too long to start making an impact.


Rating: 5/10

Maxime Gonalons

Had one shaky moment but did fine after that.

Rating: 6/10

Diego Perotti

Excellent penalty, didn’t do much of note apart from that.

Rating: 7/10