The race for Champions League qualification was thrown back open after centre forward Olivier Giroud’s first-half header for Chelsea inflicted a damaging defeat on Liverpool.
The European finalists started the brighter, but quickly sunk after Giroud rose to flick in Nigeria wing-back Victor Moses’ 32nd-minute cross.
The result, the Reds’ fifth Premier League loss of 2017/18, means Chelsea can draw level with them if they win Wednesday’s game in hand against relegation-battlers Huddersfield Town. This will take the fight – that also includes Tottenham Hotspur – down to a last-day shootout.
Here are our Liverpool player ratings:
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3)
Loris Karius – 7: Remained alert throughout and made one fine save from Belgium livewire Eden Hazard at his near post.
Nathaniel Clyne – 4: Still shedding rust from spending more than a year on the sidelines. Booked for one wild foul on Spain left wing-back Marcos Alonso and hooked before the hour mark.
Dejan Lovren – 5: Picked out by France target man Olivier Giroud as a weak link – and so it proved for his goal. Won only two aerials.
Virgil van Dijk – 6: Was intelligently cut out of the game by manager Antonio Conte’s tactics of putting the small Hazard on him.
Andrew Robertson – 4: One of the worst performances from a breakout season for the Scotland left-back. Useless in both attack and defence.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5: A middling display from the 19-year-old in his, supposedly, favoured centre midfield role. Pass accuracy of 75.6 per cent was way down on most of his team-mates.
Georginio Wijnaldum – 6: Performance mirrored that of his team. Began so brightly with a dangerous burst into the Chelsea area, then faded.
James Milner – 5: The assist king in the Champions League was hampered by an early knock. Doggedly kept at it, to little effect.
Mohamed Salah – 4: Stamford Bridge doesn’t suit the Egypt superstar. Resembled the flop who struck just twice in 19 games for the Blues, rather than the 43-goal hero for the Reds we’ve come to admire. Output included one off target shot.
Roberto Firmino – 5: The Brazil forward’s expert craftsmanship and tireless drive were missing. Had only one feeble attempt on goal.
Sadio Mane – 5: Senegal forward could not get involved consistently. Was dispossessed a joint-high three times.
SUBS
Jordan Henderson – 6: Liverpool skipper could not steady a sinking ship.
Dominic Solanke – 5: It’s now zero goals in 26 matches since his summer exit from boyhood club Chelsea. They’ll have few regrets.
Alberto Moreno N/A: Little time to impress.
