Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Man City as Curtis Jones good but 3 terrible

Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Man City as an Erling Haaland hat-trick fired Pep Guardiola's side into the semi-finals and Arne Slot's men were poor at the back

Curtis Jones of Liverpool is challenged by Bernardo Silva of Man City.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

ETIHAD STADIUM, MANCHESTER // Liverpool started well and was on top for a while, but defensively, it was torn apart. As starts to big weeks go, this was not what Arne Slot was looking for.

After the Reds had more than held their own in the first half, Erling Haaland opened the scoring from the penalty spot a few minutes before the interval when Virgil van Dijk brought down Nico O'Reilly inside the area. Before the break, he had completed a quick-fire double by climbing above Ibrahima Konate to head home a second.

With a two-goal lead, Manchester City didn't need to press on, but Van Dijk let Antoine Semenyo in behind and he made no mistake, chipping the ball over Giorgi Mamardashvili. Haaland completed his hat-trick, and Mohamed Salah missed a penalty too.

Winners

There was a winner in terms of Curtis Jones, who came in and did pretty well in the middle of the pitch. He started well and though he didn't manage to keep that level of influence throughout, he did enough to suggest that he should get more chances to impress before the campaign concludes. Beyond that, we didn't learn a great deal.

Losers

Defensively, the Liverpool center-backs didn't cover themselves in glory here, to say the least. Van Dijk gave away a penalty and let Semenyo run off him for the third, Milos Kerkez could have conceded a spot kick, and Ibrahima Konate was beaten too easily for Haaland's second; a calamity of errors.

This was one of the stories of the season for Liverpool: it had done fairly well for a decent spell, but the game was then taken away in a couple of brief instants before the first 45 minutes had even elapsed. At the back, it is simply nowhere near the level required and left with an embarrassing scoreline.

Player ratings

Giorgi Mamardashvili (6). Set for a sustained spell in the team thanks to Alisson Becker's latest injury, this was his usual performance. A couple of good saves but not always perfect with his feet. One good long pass set Salah away but he couldn't do anything with the goals that beat him.

Joe Gomez (6). In at right-back with Jeremie Frimpong's minutes needing to be managed, he looked to be a solid option. He was beaten too easily a few times, though, with players running off the back of him, and his long throws didn't lead to much.

Ibrahima Konate (5). Had initially dealt well with Haaland after being bundled over by him early on. However, not always that comfortable on the ball (Jones did well to come across and help him out with that) and not good enough in the air for Haaland's second.

Virgil van Dijk (5). He made a couple of really good blocks and interceptions but also gave away a penalty when he brought down O'Reilly. It is the kind of rash moment that he doesn't often have, but it proved costly and he didn't need to dangle a leg. Semenyo got behind him for the second and he just didn't look up to speed.

Milos Kerkez (6). Defending well against Antoine Semenyo when he was on that side, the left-back was strong in the tackle and got forward as often as he could. Rayan Cherki caused a few more problems, however, and he was perhaps fortunate not to give away a penalty in the first half.

Ryan Gravenberch (6). Picked up a booking in the first half and was trading a tightrope after that. Relatively quiet on the ball, with most of the touches seeming to fall to Jones.

Curtis Jones (7). He was more than deserving of an opportunity in the starting XI, and looked really keen to take it. He dropped deep to build up and linked well with those around him, moving the ball a lot quicker than he sometimes does. After a strong start, he waned in influence as the game went on.

Dominik Szoboszlai (6). It was crucial that the Hungarian, who has been the Reds' best player so far this season, was in the center of the field, and he was a typically strong runner in the middle. Unable, though, to make that much of an impact in the final third, and in the second half, even he couldn't stop Manchester City wandering through.

Florian Wirtz (6). Playing off the left, similar to how he was used against Galatasaray so successfully in the Champions League last month, he looked really sharp to start with but quickly went quiet. This is the best way of using him, but there is more work to be done yet.

Mohamed Salah (5). The start of the final period of his Liverpool career has begun and this is definitely the role he should play for the remainder of it. Getting him close to goal is key, though he missed a good early chance when played in by Mamardashvili and blasted a couple of efforts well over the top, much to the delight of the home support. Missing a penalty compounded the misery.

Hugo Ekitike (6). Scoring and playing well for France in the last couple of weeks, he played a similar role to the one he did for his national team. Linked well with Wirtz, among others but smashed a couple of shots well off target and wasn't always that involved.

Substitutes

Jeremie Frimpong (6). His minutes are being carefully managed at the moment and he therefore only played half an hour. His impact was limited but his speed might be a useful asset midweek in Paris.

Rio Ngumoha (6). Came on too late to change the game, but did his best to twist and turn. Playing from the right, he wasn't able to beat his man often, but it was at least a chance to give him some more action.

Cody Gakpo (6). It was barely noticeable that he was on the field. Like Ngumoha, introduced too late to make much of an impact.

Alexis Mac Allister (6). Cool and calm at the base of the midfield but couldn't do more than keep it simple. One long-range effort drew a decent save from James Trafford, though the goalkeeper would have been disappointed to be beaten from that sort of distance.

Federico Chiesa (6). The last of the players to get thrown on, he was put up top and hardly had a kick.