[Player Ratings] Liverpool 2-2 Young Boys: Cole Stars As Reds Denied Qualification

Liverpool missed the chance to secure qualification to the knockout stages of the Europa League after Young Boys twice came from behind to snatch a 2-2 draw at Anfield on Thursday night.

Joe Cole set up Jonjo Shelvey for the opener before Bobadilla levelled just after half time with a fine effort. Cole then put the home side ahead once again but Zverotic smashed home from the edge of the box with just 2 minutes on the clock to leave Liverpool needing to beat Udinese in the final Group game to ensure qualification to the last 32. Here are Liverpool player ratings from the game.

Liverpool Player Ratings

Reina – 6 -Didn’t have a great deal to do apart from pick the ball out his net twice. Beaten by a lovely strike just after the break but may feel he could have done better with Young Boys late second.

Wisdom – 6 – Subbed after just 30 minutes due to injury and did little wrong before his departure.

Skrtel – 7 – Rock at the back for the home side. Won the majority of his duels and even made the odd forward run.

Carragher – 6.5 – Another professional display from Carragher.

Downing – 6 – Steady again in the unfamiliar left back role but didn’t pose the attacking threat he really should have done, being a natural winger.

Sahin -6 – Economical in possession and used the ball well, but didn’t do enough with it in an attacking sense. Needs to be more creative with his decisions.

Henderson – 6 – Moved to right back when Wisdom went off and struggled at times positionally, which is understandable as he was being played out of postilion.

Assaidi – 6.5 – Lively display and showed off his dribbling skills on occasion, but needs to improve his final ball and end product.

Suso – 6.5 – Struggled with the physical side of the game, being knocked off  the ball too easily at times, and missed a great chance to get on the score-sheet in the first half. But also displayed some excellent touches and you can tell he’s a real talent. More to come from him.

Cole – 7.5 – One of his best performances for Liverpool. Some great work to set up Shelvey for the opener and then got himself on the score-sheet in the second half. Still a little wasteful in possession at time but a step in the right direction for Cole.

Shelvey – 7 – Not sure if the ‘false 9’ experiment worked out but Jonjo was in the right place to head home from Cole’s cross for the opener. Feel the player would rather have been playing further back to influence the game more.

Subs:

Gerrard – 7.5 – Controlled the game when he came on and made the difference as he was involved in the build-up for the goals.

Sterling – 7 – Used his pace well to trouble his full back and made a positive influence when introduced.

Suarez – 7 – The home side finally had a ‘striker’ to play off when Suarez came on and he was involved in the build-up to the Cole goal.

What were your player ratings from the game? Get involved in the comments section.