Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Chelsea as Florian Wirtz good but 3 struggle

STAMFORD BRIDGE, WEST LONDON // Liverpool lost in heartbreaking late fashion again and missed the chance to move level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table after initially coming from behind against Chelsea.

Moises Caicedo fired a rocket into the top corner in the 14th minute, opening the scoring after a relatively even first quarter of an hour in a rare moment of quality in a half that was far from filled with magical moments.

The introduction of Florian Wirtz at half-time immediately created one chance for Liverpool, but Mohamed Salah could only steer his shot wide. And then Cody Gakpo scored almost out of nothing, smashing home from close range. Estevao popped up at the back post deep into stoppage time as a theme of the new season continued for Arne Slot.

Winners

Florian Wirtz looked determined to prove a bit of a point when he came on at the break and he was confident enough to make his first touch a backheeled flick around the corner into the path of Salah. It was a step in the right direction for a player who holds the key to unlocking the full potential of Slot's 2.0 version of Liverpool.

Losers

Against Crystal Palace, Conor Bradley was taken off at half-time. Here, he was on a booking for a blatant foul on Marc Cucurella and was being beaten far too easily by Alejandro Garnacho on several occasions where he had to foul him. He wasn't the only one, but it was a below-par showing from the full-back.

Player ratings

Giorgi Mamardashvili (6). Making his first appearance in the Premier League, the Georgian shot-stopper was very confident catching crosses, but didn't always look comfortable with the ball at his feet. He made a couple of decent saves including from Estevao as the clock ticked down.

Conor Bradley (4). Back in the team after being taken off at half-time last weekend at Selhurst Park, he was given a hard time by Garnacho. Booked for a clear pull-back on Cucurella and replaced by Florian Wirtz at the interval.

Ibrahima Konate (6). It has been a shaky period for the Frenchman and there were one or two moments that threatened to catch him out here when he dived in. He was better here than at Crystal Palace, but was taken off after 55 minutes.

Virgil van Dijk (6). Not always the snappiest in possession but was desperately trying to put some urgency into the players around him, often without much success. Defended well enough, as he always does.

Milos Kerkez (5). He had a good chance to shoot but tried to square it in the first half, and some of his passes went astray. He wasn't the only one, but he just needed to be a little sharper.

Ryan Gravenberch (6). Uncharacteristically sloppy at times, including one moment when he passed the ball straight out of play. He was outmuscled a few times in the center of the field too and ended up playing a significant chunk of the game at center-back, where he did OK.

Alexis Mac Allister (5). Beaten out of the way too easily for the opening goal and wasn't hugely involved after that. Improved second half but was still not at his best.

Dominik Szoboszlai (7). Back in his usual midfield berth to begin with, he put in plenty of running but wasn't always able to do much creatively. Another referee could have fallen for the Garnacho claim for a foul inside the penalty area but he did well when he moved to full-back.

Mohamed Salah (6). The Egyptian had an off-day against Crystal Palace and then was taken out of the team for Galatasaray. Cucurella gave him no space here in the first half but he was more involved in the second.

Alexander Isak (6). Making just his second league start, Isak headed over the bar in the first half but didn't get too involved beyond that. He was unable to influence things much and was dominated in the air in the main, but touched the ball into the path of Gakpo for the equalizer.

Cody Gakpo (6). He tried to link with Kerkez a couple of times down the left flank but there was little that came off for him in the first period. He scored almost out of nowhere and then his confidence seemed to increase.

Substitutes

Florian Wirtz (7). Brought on at half-time to inject some creativity into Liverpool, the German almost immediately got a back-heeled assist when he flicked the ball into Salah's path.

Andy Robertson (6). Injected a bit more energy down the left side for Liverpool and did well when it looked like Pedro Neto was about to get the better of him a couple of times.

Curtis Jones (6). Always good at holding onto the ball and he offered that here, helping a little with relieving the pressure. A positive change.

Hugo Ekitike (6). Fit again after an injury scare midweek, he wasn't able to get involved in the game that much when he was thrown into the action but did show a couple of moments of real quality, including a lovely flick around the corner to Gakpo. Wataru Endo also came on but too late to earn a rating.

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