A late equaliser 3 minutes from time stole a hard-fought 3 points away from Liverpool on a freezing night in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Reds fought back after conceding an opening goal 3 minutes into the game with goals from Rickie Lambert and Jordan Henderson but fell prey to yet another set-piece goal late in the game. Here is a look at how the Reds performed :-
Simon Mignolet – 4/10
The Belgian shot-stopper did his reputation no good after failing to deal with an awkward shot in the opening minutes of the game by fumbling it only to hand the Bulgarians an opening goal. Yet another disappointing outing for Mignolet.
Javier Manquillo – 5/10
Under criticism for giving away the corner that led to the equaliser needlessly, Manquillo had a decent game otherwise. Defensively solid, Rodgers clearly has a lot of faith in the young full-back.
Martin Skrtel – 5/10
The Slovakian centre-half won some very important headers and put in some crucial tackles as the Reds defended deep in the second half. Unconvincing yet effective in a way, Skrtel will always have that erratic element about his game.
Kolo Toure – 5/10
Replacing the under-performing Dejan Lovren, Kolo Toure failed to keep up the form he sowed at the Bernebeu. Often misplacing headers, Toure looked a tad nervous in the heart of the defence.
Glen Johnson – 5/10
Its baffling that Rodgers’ persists on playing the terribly under-performing Johnson ahead of Moreno game after game. To be fair to the English full-back, he did put in a much better performance at left-back than he normally does at right-back. However, he was at fault for losing his man while defending the corner that led to the equaliser.
Lucas Leiva – 7/10
It took the Brazilian a while to get into the game but when he did, he showed Rodgers how important an out-and-out defensive midfield is in the current Liverpool side. Shielded the defence well and controlled the tempo to an extent.
Joe Allen – 6/10
Effective – that’s what you can call Allen’s performance. The Welshman put in decent shift on the left of the midfield diamond and backed it up with some crucial defensive interventions. Quiet yet effective.
Jordan Henderson – 7/10
Having gone off the boil in the recent weeks, this would have been a much needed game for the vice-captain. Apart from a very well-taken goal, Henderson’s industry and endeavour proved to affect the game very scarcely.
Steven Gerrard – 6/10
Looked far better in a more advanced role than in defensive midfield. The skipper’s sharp, incisive passing was a key to Liverpool counter-attacks. However, his lack of pace in the final third proved costly at times when the Reds attacked.
Raheem Sterling – 7/10
A brilliant cross from his weaker foot set Jordan Henderson up in the first half. Lively and quick, Sterling was keeping the Ludogoretz defence on the toes all game.
Rickie Lambert – 7/10
Perhaps his best game in a Red shirt, Lambert won almost every header and linked play with Sterling and Gerrard brilliantly operating as the front-man. Generated power all by himself for the equaliser, it might just be the start to Lambert’s career on Merseyside.