Ipswich's high-energy press stifled Liverpool in the first half but it lasted only as long as Ed Sheeran, who exited at the interval. Luis Diaz and Jota should have opened the scoring before the hour mark before the latter did eventually put the ball into the back of the net after being teed up by Mohamed Salah .
The Egyptian made it 2-0 on 65 minutes as he poked the ball underneath Christian Walton, with the traveling fans singing about being top of the league. From there, Liverpool was able to see the result out.
It remains to be seen what work Liverpool can get done in the transfer market before the summer window closes but Ryan Gravenberch is definitely showing promising signs. He wasn't at 100 per cent levels of perfection by any means, but a level above the pair that started on either side of him in a midfield trio first half and the best of the bunch.
Losers
Alexis Mac Allister will improve as time goes by but this was not a vintage performance from the Argentine. He was lacking his usual slickness in possession and didn't do a great deal defensively either. Trent Alexander-Arnold was in need of a bit more sharpness too. For the pair, it will come sooner rather than later, no doubt.
Player ratings
Alisson Becker (7). He got down well for a couple of shots but Ipswich should have made more of the areas that they got into. With his feet, he was competent and he is well-adapted to playing the style that Slot wants.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (6). He looked rusty, which is no huge surprise after such a short time since his break ended this summer. Off the ball, there were a couple of moments where players including Liam Delap skipped past him.
Jarell Quansah (7). Stood up well to the aerial threat that Ipswich posed and his pace was a big asset to cope when Liverpool was caught short of numbers at the back. Looked to be doing enough to keep his place in the team ahead of Ibrahima Konate but was then replaced by the Frenchman at half-time, presumably because of an injury.
Virgil van Dijk (6). His usual performance, really, aside from the moment at 0-0 where he looked in danger of giving away a penalty only to be saved by the offside flag. Van Dijk was good in the air and dealt with most of what was thrown at him but that could have been a costly lapse of concentration.
Andy Robertson (6). Wes Burns gave him a tough time on occasion, especially early on, but the Scotland captain recovered. He offered little in the way of an attacking threat.
Dominik Szoboszlai (7). Started slowly but managed to get up to speed in the end. The Hungarian has all of the traits required to play the number 10 role but he needs to have a bit more of an impact in the final third. He was, like the whole team, much better after half-time compared to before.
Ryan Gravenberch (7). Solid enough off the ball and unfortunate with a couple of the fouls that he gave away. The Dutchman is not a natural number six but he might have to do for now. There were certainly a lot of promising signs and things to build on.
Alexis Mac Allister (6). He was well off the pace in truth having looked a little slow to get up to speed in last weekend's friendly. The minutes on the clock will do him good but he will hope to improve very quickly.
Mohamed Salah (8). Very quiet in the first half and Leif Davis was able to keep him under wraps in the main prior to the interval, but Ipswich was not quite as intense after that, and paid the price. He was only a couple of inches away from controlling balls over the top that would have sent him through on goal, though. Fine margins. Then when he did go through, he made no mistake. He scored and he created when given the chance and was the difference-maker.
Diogo Jota (7). Seemed preoccupied with talking to the referee Tim Robinson for a period in the first half and struggled to hold the ball up and bring others into play. That isn't unusual, however. What he does best is pop up with a goal from nowhere. That should have happened when he was unmarked inside the six-yard box and could only glance wide. A few moments later, he atoned.
Luis Diaz (7). He had a few moments where he was able to isolate Axel Tuanzebe but like last season, he struggled to find the extra boost of pace that would have seen him beat his man. Much of his work was with a defender in front of him. Missed an almost-open goal before the hour mark when Liverpool counter-attacked.
Substitutes
Ibrahima Konate (6). Given an early chance to show why he should be Van Dijk's partner most often this season, the Frenchman did well. He was strong and looked refreshed and ready to go again.
Conor Bradley (6). Solid enough when he came on and deserving of a chance to impress. He will get more sub appearances as Alexander-Arnold gets back up to speed.
Cody Gakpo and Kostas Tsimikas (both 6). Came on when the aim was simply to see the game out. Didn't need to make much of an impression and didn't. Gakpo was booked, which drew a huge cheer, but the points were won.
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.
Most Popular
Comments / 0