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