Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Tottenham as Szoboszlai good but 6 don't do enough

Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Tottenham as Dominik Szoboszlai was a strong performer and Rio Ngumoha impressed on his first Premier League start

Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates scoring for Liverpool against Tottenham.(Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // A nervy Liverpool couldn't edge across the line against Tottenham after a Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick was canceled out by Richarlison's late equalizer.

Szoboszlai opened the scoring with a free-kick that Guglielmo Vicario should have saved and from there, while it was all Liverpool in terms of the play, the Reds couldn't force a second.

They were playing a dangerous game at times and were not wholly convincing, but looked set to get over the line. In the race for the Champions League places, they would have climbed above Chelsea but not Aston Villa.

Winners

Szoboszlai hasn't been quite as good in recent weeks but he was superb here, shutting down Mathys Tel and scoring a great goal from distance to open the scoring. Florian Wirtz was excellent in the main too, shuttling around and creating from a central berth, but he tired and waned in influence in the second 45 minutes.

There is much more to come from Rio Ngumoha, but he too showed some good signs on his first start in this competition, while Joe Gomez can be pleased with how he played in the first half, at least, as he got another chance to impress in his best role.

Losers

No one from a Liverpool standpoint was particularly poor, but they certainly drifted. That was the frustration. Cody Gakpo could have been stronger at times and Jeremie Frimpong didn't have as much of an impact as he sometimes does.

Really, there is no excuse not to have won and piled more pressure on a team very much at risk of going down. A draw does nothing to help Arne Slot's case.

Player ratings

Alisson Becker (7). Back in the side after being injured midweek, he didn't have much to do in the first half until a very good save late on from a Richarlison header. What he needed to do, he did well. Couldn't do anything with the leveler.

Dominik Szoboszlai (7). In at right-back to allow Frimpong to play further upfield, he did well against a tricky Tel and opened the scoring with a superb free-kick.

Joe Gomez (6). Chosen ahead of Ibrahima Konate after some very good performances of late, on the ball, he was very strong first half. Caught out of position a couple of times when he got dragged forward, but managed to recover. Not as convincing after the interval.

Virgil van Dijk (7). Battled well against Richarlison and was good in possession aside from a few panicked passes near the end of each half. Mainly good, as usual, but couldn't stop the equalizer.

Andy Robertson (6). Guiding Ngumoha through the game, he was an experienced head at the back and deserving of more minutes. He could have signed for Spurs in the winter window, but will be glad he didn't. Solid here, but nothing more.

Ryan Gravenberch (6). Played some lovely line-breaking passes into the final third but was able to glide through the game in second gear in the main. A few times in the second half, the ball got away from him too easily.

Alexis Mac Allister (6). Won the free-kick that led to the opener and was generally bright on the ball, even if, like with Gravenberch, there wasn't always that much pressure on him. Seemed to tire in the second half and started to make some errors.

Jeremie Frimpong (6). Injecting some pace down the right flank, there weren't that many occasions when he got past his man. Offered width but not much in the way of end product.

Florian Wirtz (7). Back in his favored number 10 berth, the German was buzzing around and bringing players into play and he never stopped running, pressing from the front and chasing all the way back. Went off the boil in the second half and was taken off with two more big games this week in mind.

Rio Ngumoha (7). Making his first Premier League start, there were moments where he lost concentration, but some lovely dribbles too. Most of his decision-making was good and he showed why he was deserving of a start, though he went to ground too easily a couple of times. A good hour on the field.

Cody Gakpo (6). Up top as the number nine, he struggled to get into the game early on and then had to drop back to see much of the ball. Hit the post with one good effort in the first half but wasn't much more effective when he moved to the left wing, one nice pass into Mohamed Salah aside.

Substitutes

Hugo Ekitike (6). Blasted a shot well over the bar and needed to show a bit more composure on the late counter at the end as well. The end-to-end nature of the game should have suited him more than it seemed to.

Mohamed Salah (6). Coming on with a point to prove, he looked bright and spun away from Djed Spence a couple of times. Snatched at a shot when Radu Dragusin made an error but looked sharper than he often has of late.

Curtis Jones (6). Kept the ball well at times but also took a couple of unnecessary risks. Useful energy when the game got stretched but he should have been one of those ensuring that it didn't. Federico Chiesa and Trey Nyoni also came on but too late to earn a rating.