Liverpool suffered a crushing defeat at home to PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League, and were responsible for their own downfall. The hosts got off to a nightmare start and were overtaken by Ivan Perisic’s penalty after just five minutes. It happened shortly after the ball hit Virgil van Dijk’s inexplicably outstretched arm inside the box. Liverpool responded well and quickly equalized with Dominik Szoboszlai scoring the rebound after Kodi Gakpo’s shot was deflected.
It looked like the Reds would turn things around until PSV regained the lead in the second half. Guus Till scored the opening goal ahead of Milos Kerkes, ending his team’s all-out run. Kuhaib Driwes added a third goal in the closing stages, taking advantage of a momentary gap from Ibrahima Konate.
He struck again in stoppage time, firing home from the edge of the box to seal Liverpool’s ninth defeat in 12 games and put even more pressure on Arne Slott.
Express Sport rates and predicts Liverpool’s players following tonight’s defeat…
Liverpool player rating against PSV
Giorgi Mamadashvili – 5
We didn’t have a chance to save the penalty and were not responsible for any of the goals, but conceding four goals was never a good look.
Curtis Jones – 6
He played an active role in defense on the right side. Press quickly and challenge at the back, attacking further up the pitch if necessary.
Ibrahima Konate – 3
We could have gotten closer to the ball in the build-up to the winning goal, but on the third goal we took a complete wrong turn and it gave us nightmares. Naturally, I was immediately hooked.
Virgil van Dijk – 3
He gave away a penalty for a careless handball and then got a stupid booking right after. A towering header hit the bar, but other than that it was terrifying. There is no leadership and the qualifications are very low.
Milos Kerkes – 5
He had a good game on both ends of the pitch, but his play was overshadowed when Till forced him in front of him and allowed PSV’s second goal.
Ryan Gravenbirch – 5
It is restless at times and almost blends into the background. He wasn’t as good as usual with the Reds.
Alexis Mac Allister – 5
Although he worked hard to influence the progress of the engine room, not everything went the way he had hoped.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 7
He was well placed to take Liverpool’s equalizer home. He took many chances and made a good impression off the ball as well. A rare shining light.
Kodi Gakpo – 6
They appeared to be energetic as they scored the equalizing goal with positive play, but in the second half they missed a header from close range. After PSV’s third goal, my head was down.
Mohamed Salah – 3
He had a chance to score in the first half, but his shot went well over the crossbar. There were no other notable performances, and he was beaten far too easily in the build-up to the winning goal.
Hugo Ekitike – 6
He wanted to make an impact and showed it with his energetic approach until he was sidelined with an injury. I hope it’s nothing serious.
substitute
Alexander Isaac – 4
He was introduced at the start of the second half in place of the injured Ekitike, but failed to step up and produced nothing of note.
Federico Chiesa – 6
He played the final 15 minutes and provided a sense of urgency that his teammates lacked. They should have won a penalty in the second half when he was brought down inside the penalty area.
