It was not the first time, but it might be the last time that captain Steven Gerrard saved Liverpool as the stalwart scored a late header to give the Reds a hard earned 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers in front of over 44,000 fans at Anfield.
Here is a player-by-player performance breakdown of both sides.
Liverpool
Simon Mignolet —7: Mignolet’s enforcers produced a decent performance meaning the Belgian was not called into too much action. He will be disappointed not to have kept a clean sheet.
Emre Can —7: The young German
produced a good performance at right-back. Strong on and off the ball and contributed well to the victory.
Martin Skrtel —7: Martin Skrtel was as sturdy as always. Won most aerial duels, cleared his lines well and earned a penalty late on.
Dejan Lovren —6.5: The former Southampton defender has copped a bit of flack this season. While he has failed to reach the form that brought him to Merseyside, he was strong at the back, although he still made the slight error here and there.
Glen Johnson —6: It is always hard for a right footed player playing on the left side and Johnson struggled at times and often looked uncomfortable. Made way for Lazar Markovic late with the game hanging in the balance.
Steven Gerrard —7: It will not be a dramatic day at Anfield without Steven Gerrard stealing a late win for Liverpool. The captain missed a penalty in the 79th minute but scored a rare headed goal to win the game. Replaced by the returning Lucas soon after scoring the winner.
Jordan Henderson —7: A traditional work horse performance by the possible heir to Gerrard. Won the 50/50 balls and worked hard to retain the ball when he lost it. Delivered a beautiful ball to Raheem Sterling early in the second, unfortunately the young winger could not finish.
Phillipe Coutinho —7: The little Brazilian justified his position in the PFA’s team of the year with another stand-out performance. Took his goal well. Maybe did not have as big of an impact as he would have liked but still good regardless.
Raheem Sterling —6.5: The plucky winger seemed a bit lazy today and was wasteful including an embarrassing miss from a Henderson ball early in the second-half.
Adam Lallana —6.5: The English attacker missed a couple of chances where he should have really done a lot better or make a better decision. Replaced midway through the second by Jordan Ibe
Rickie Lambert —6.5: Lambert earned a rare start due to the absences of Daniel Sturridge and Mario Balotelli and did well. However, not even the Liverpool product could change their fortunes in front of goal
Substitutes
Jordan Ibe —6.5: Played out the final 20 plus minutes after replacing Lallana. The hot prospect looked dangerous as he ran at defenders and his provided decent service to the rest of the front third.
Lazar Markovic N/A: Brendan Rodgers brought on Markovic for Johnson to add something in attack when the game needed to be won.
Lucas Leiva N/A: Replaced Gerrard soon after he had scored the winner.
QPR
Robert Green —7: Made some crucial saves to deny Lovren and Gerrard, the latter from the spot. Could not do anything to prevent both goals
Steven Caulker —5: Was substituted at half time because of a hand injury.
Clint Hill —5.5: Was largely anonymous for a central defender.
Nedum Onuoha —5: Let his team down with a three minute implosion which saw him concede a penalty and receive two yellow cards, including a reckless tackle on Ibe.
Richard Dunne —6.5: The experienced defender helped keep his defence structured and handled the likes of Rickie Lambert accordingly.
Matthew Phillips —6: His service from the dead ball was quite poor as they often failed to get past the first defender.
Joey Barton —6.5: Conceded a few fouls, but played the ball well and assisted the equaliser with a superbly taken corner.
Leroy Fer —7: QPR’s best on field. Thought he had scored inside the first 60 seconds before it was correctly disallowed as Phillips’ corner left the field of play. Led the charge for the R’s and scored the equaliser in the 73rd minute with a well taken finish.
Karl Henry —6: Henry failed to offer much as was supplanted for Bobby Zamora as Chris Ramsey’s men started chasing the game.
Sandro —7: Held the ball well, delivered good service for his teammates.
Charlie Austin —6: Austin did not really look like a striker who has scored 17 goals this season. Did not get much help from his friends and they left him stranded in the Liverpool defence.
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Substitutes
Yun Suk-Young —6: Replaced Caulker at the break by did not do much worth noticing
Bobby Zamora N/A: Head coach Ramsey brought Zamora on to trouble the Liverpool centre-backs but did not offer too much.
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