Liverpool vs Man City player ratings as Virgil van Dijk impresses in title tussle draw

Liverpool 1-1 Man City: John Stones and Alexis Mac Allister scored as the teams couldn’t be separated

(Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

Liverpool came from behind to draw 1-1 with Manchester City in a huge game at the top of the Premier League.

Alexis Mac Allister’s penalty cancelled out John Stones’ first-half effort and despite a few later near-misses from Luis Diaz, the points were shared. Here are the player ratings from Anfield.

Liverpool

Caoimhin Kelleher, 8. Two early saves but couldn’t keep out Stones near post. Big one-on-one block against Foden.

Conor Bradley, 6. A solid if unspectacular performance on this occasion, only getting forward once and mostly holding his own in defence.

Jarell Quansah, 7. Good double block-and-tackle first half to deny City a decent chance. Caught on the ball on the hour mark but got away with it thanks to Van Dijk.

Virgil van Dijk, 9. Stood tall with a big performance amid key defensive absences. Two key cut-outs, held off Haaland one-v-one and intercepted a pass which looked destined to end in a goal-bound shot.

Joe Gomez, 7. Went toe-to-toe with key outlet Foden and largely fared well. Ended up on the right, a steady performer throughout.

Wataru Endo, 8. Combative, non-stop energy in the centre. Impressive against De Bruyne as the Belgian faded.

Dominik Szoboszlai, 7. Headed over when well-placed and spurned a couple of chances to play in teammates. A little rusty but plenty of endeavour and took up good positions.

Alexis Mac Allister, 8. A classy performer for the Reds, always keeping them on the front foot. Buried his penalty after the restart.

Harvey Elliott, 8. Tireless effort from right wing and delivered two good crosses. Went into midfield later and was just as impressive.

Darwin Nunez, 7. Offside a few too many times but a great outlet and kept the defence busy throughout, winning a penalty after a smart reaction. Almost scored with one lunging stretch - saved by the keeper.

Luis Diaz, 7. One effort ruled out then lashed another just wide. Spurned two enormous second-half chances within two minutes. Always a runner but missed the end product.

Subs: Salah 7, Robertson 7, Gakpo 5

Liverpool and Man City drew 1-1 (AFP via Getty Images)

Man City

Ederson, 5. Didn’t have a save to make first half then wiped out Nunez to concede a penalty - injured himself doing so.

Kyle Walker, 5. Got away with two late tackles first half and was second-best against Diaz throughout. Overhit a cross with two waiting to score unmarked in the first half.

John Stones, 7. Tucked away his goal near post after a great run. Defended stoutly in central areas, didn’t push into midfield too often.

Manuel Akanji, 7. Troubled by Nunez a few times but largely recovered well, kept position and filled in for his full-back at times.

Nathan Ake, 5. Cost the penalty effectively with an underhit backpass. Troubled by both Elliott and Salah in a difficult outing.

Rodri, 6. In possession as excellent as ever; out of it was unusually overrun and very fortunate to escape with only a single yellow card to his name after a handball in midfield following several fouls.

Kevin de Bruyne, 6. Missed a couple of chances to tee up teammates but assisted the opener with a corner. Had an apparent complaint at his manager when subbed off.

Bernardo Silva, 7. His usual bustling self, winning possession cleverly, getting into dangerous spaces on the turn and ruffling feathers when needed.

Phil Foden, 7. City’s most omnipresent threat in the first half and had two or three really good moments, but they failed to find him as often after the break.

Erling Haaland, 6. Kept very quiet throughout by Van Dijk and Quansah. Fired one off-target on the run but otherwise a passenger for stretches.

Julian Alvarez, 7. Hard runner throughout and had two decent openings early on. Faded somewhat after that but far from an under-performer on the day.

Subs: Ortega 7, Doku 7, Kovacic 7