[Player Ratings] Liverpool Win The Carling Cup: How The Red-Men Rated

Liverpool ended their near six-year wait for silverware, beating Cardiff City 3-2 on penalties after the game finished 2-2 after extra-time.

Liverpool were far from their best as the Championship side pushed them all the way in a thrilling cup final, but the Reds came out on top in a nervous shoot out to claim their first trophy since winning the FA Cup in 2006. Here are our Liverpool player ratings.

Player Ratings

Pepe Reina – 6 – Was unlucky for the opener as Mason nut-megged him with a lovely finish but dealt with everything asked of him well. Don’t recall him actually making a ‘proper’ save during the match.

Glen Johnson – 6.5 – Superb curling effort hit the bar early on and got forward to support the attack on occasion. Held his nerve to score in the shoot out.

Martin Skrtel – 8 – A monster at the back all afternoon and took his goal very well. My consistency these days.

Daniel Agger – 7 – Continued his fine partnership alongside Skrtel until being forced off through injury late-on.

Jose Enrique – 6 – A decent game from the Spaniard, but not one of his best. Wasn’t the usual threat going forward but still did his job well enough at the back.

Jordan Henderson – 5.5 – Pretty poor from the young Englishman. He failed to get in to the game and was subbed early in the second half.

Steven Gerrard – 7 – Dominated play in the midfield as usual but was a little rusty with his efforts at goal. Missed his spot kick as Heaton produced a stunning save.

Charlie Adam – 6 – Steady game from the Scot as he kept the ball moving through midfield but lacked any real cutting edge with his passing. Got away with missing a terrible penalty.

Stewart Downing – 7 – His powerful and direct running proved to be one of Liverpool’s most effective weapons, but sometimes his final ball let him down.

Luis Suarez – 6 – Unlucky to see his header bounce off the post before Skrtel slotted home the rebound. Not one of his best displays but always a threat.

Andy Carroll – 6 – Didn’t see a lot of the ball but went close with a late header. Subbed off in the dying moments as penalties loomed.

Subs:

Craig Bellamy – 6 – An energetic display as usual but didn’t really make any real impact.

Jamie Carragher – 6 – Slotted in at the back with ease and put in his typical whole-hearted performance.

Dirk Kuyt – 8 – A true super-sub display from Kuyt. Came on very late but still able to score a lovely goal, make a goal-line clearance and score in the shoot-out. Superb.