Rice Silences Souness At Anfield (Lee Judges & Robbie Player Ratings) | Liverpool 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal fans in North America, AFTV is coming to you. We're heading to Toronto, LA, New York and Las Vegas. So sign up now to be first in line for tickets. Can't wait. Hi, welcome to AFTV. It's now time for player ratings. I can't wait to get back in that car, but we have to do this because this is also very important. I'm very happy. Happy birthday, my friend. One more year of... Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Have a donut when you get in. Oh, we've got some donuts as well. Have you won? I'm very, very happy right now. It's been an amazing birthday. Thank you to the club. Thank you to Arsenal for getting the win. Let's run through some player ratings. Rank the team, zero shots on target, take care, zero shots on target for them. So what do we rate David Raya then? Well, David Raya, listen, he's kept a clean sheet at Anfield, so the ratings go up. I thought his distribution today was a little bit wayward at times. We obviously had a ploy to go long a lot more than what we normally do. But overall, listen, he's handling everything. We've kept a clean sheet at Anfield, man, it's got to be a high seven. Before I come to Lee, it's funny that all Liverpool fans are annoyed at Alisson for playing it. out from the back and we caught them but we were going long like Robbie said and we got caught in the first half of it Declan Rice recovered it didn't he but what I see was there was a lot of handshakes and like yeah come on we can defend it and everything like that so listen he's been fantastic it was a great save in the first half I remember it coming down and he was brave and then the one with him and Declan Rice when they smashed into each other and you're thinking all right it's bad but for me today He didn't have to be spectacular today, so 7 out of 10 for me. That's a fair rating, it's a fair rating. He didn't even really have to make many big saves, did he? No, he made one in the first half. His job, as Roy Keane says, you've just got to do your job. Do your job. Do your job. During Timber. Well, listen, from Fleetwood, it's obviously not his twin brother because he's a professional as well. It must have been his other brother played against Fleetwood because, you know, for me today, I thought from Fleetwood to there, what a difference in four days, mate. I thought he was outstanding today. I really do. Defensively, going forward, machine, brilliant performance, eight out of ten for me. Yeah, I agree with that. Eight out of ten. They didn't get past him once. You know. This guy, I say he's the best right back in the league. You know what I mean? Yeah, he was fantastic today. I'm excited to hear your rating for this one. Ezri Konsa Eight as well. Brilliant. You know what I mean? Every week we're just coming and praising this guy. You know, we keep saying it. We're not really missing William Saliba. You know what I mean? He's been brilliant. And the partnership that he's got with Gabriel. Outstanding performance against today. You're under a lot of pressure here. You're under a lot of pressure when the crowd get up for it, when they get on top of you. You know what I mean? But he was solid. Eight high enough? Yeah, yeah, I'm going to give him eight. Loving life at the moment. He must be loving life at Arsenal. He's come in and it's just been an absolute sensational signing, I've got to say, like, you know, 50-odd million. Every penny that we spent on him were worth it. I thought he was superb again today. Eight out of ten, yeah. Gabriel Magalhães. I'm giving him an eight, but he's got to stop this fading injury and all that, like, you know what I mean? Like, it could have cost us, but I thought he was magnificent in there again today. Proper defender. I mean, um... 8 out of 10. 8 out of 10, man. Solid as a rock. Clean sheet. Right, leader. 8 out of 10. 8 out of 10. Let's go to the left back. Riccardo Calafiori. Probably give him a 7. Quite a day for him, but still done his job. Listen, you didn't see... They put a lot of crosses in for a period in the game. In the first half. But overall, who went past him? You know what I mean? And they got really tricky wingers, even later on. When Ings and that came on, yeah I mean he's the older pro man, seven. He did look good, but you're right, it depends on what. I think with Calafiori, it was an above-average performance, so seven's probably about right. I'm going to say, I'll give him praise. His first two things he'd done, he'd kick the ball out and give the ball away, but then he's still got the confidence to still play a very, very good game. And I know we're saying about Timber, he never got beaten once in either light. So I think a high seven. High seven. Seven. Midfield, your man Declan Rice. Nine out of ten, man of the match. I thought he was brilliant today. When it matters, when the game's on the line, this guy shines. There's no two ways about it. He just doesn't hide, he takes the team forward. I thought he was magnificent again today. It's just... The guy just, when it matters, just performs. And I can't speak highly enough of him. Nine out of ten. I like the way he says, magnificent. Well, Lee said it in his interview, right? There was four players on that pitch that cost over £100 million, right? And three of them were missing. But to him, he weren't missing. He's the least of the three, by the way. Every last penny of that £100 million, right, he's an absolute monster in that midfield, right? And he ran the game today from midfield. Yeah, so nine. Nine. And at Anfield as well. We're a certain player, used to play like that and got it completely wrong about him, Mr Soonis. Mr Soonis, what are you saying, Mr Soonis? He's come to Anfield and done what you used to do in the 80s. Bossed it. Bossed the midfield. Let's, um... Yeah, no, I would go Bruno, but I want you to do Martin Odegaard because no one's really spoken too much about him. We said we were going to wait for this. 8 out of 10. You know what I mean? His pressing was unbelievable today. His control. He just leads by example. I remember last season there's people coming on here, he shouldn't be captain, this and that. And I said, listen, he leads by example. He's not a vocal guy. He doesn't have to be a vocal guy. But there's a reason why he's a captain and you can see why. He sets that tone. You see when he's closing down and he's working his socks off, you can't be around that and not be up with those standards. You know what I mean? I thought it wasn't just work today. He was great on the ball as well. Eight out of ten. Great to mention his work. I saw him run past strikers to close the ball. I was thinking, bloody hell. I'm bordering on nine for him today. I really am. I'll go with eight. But I thought we won the ball for our goal. You know, with his press, but the work rate, always wanting the ball, taking the ball on in difficult areas and just spraying it. Lost it a couple of times, but that's what's going to happen and all that, like, you know. But I thought today, you know, like, I thought he was brilliant in there. As a midfield player, you know, that was a quality performance from him today. He deserves it. He deserves all the plaudits. Let's go to Bruno Guimarães. I'm going to give him a seven. Maybe six, six, seven. No, I'm going to go for seven. I didn't think he was great in there today, but he'd done some good defensive stuff and all that. But what is he in there to do? Is he a defensive side or is he on the attacking side? I felt at the end of the day he'd done OK. And I don't think he was poor by any shadow of imagination. But I'm just saying, like, you know, he wasn't at the level of the other two, Declan Rice and Ødegaard. It's hard to do that. Well, that's the standards. That's the standards. So, 7 out of 10. I thought he played well. It's a team game. You know, I mean, you've got, all right, you might have two in there that did better than you, but you still did well. You still weren't poor. Like you said, done his defensive duties and carried a little threat going forward as well, especially early on in the game. I thought, listen, you've got three players like that. You've got three leaders in the middle of the park when you come to a place like that. That's what you need to get these sort of wins. So, yeah, it's seven. Solanke. I thought Solanke in the first half, we were joking with Adam when he came and he said he thought he was the best player. We were like, yo, Adam needs to change his glasses, you know what I mean? But in the second half now, I thought he was very good. For a little guy, his hold-up play is good, isn't it? Yeah, he is. He was a constant threat in that second half. He pulled off that brilliant save from Alisson from his shot. I'm going to give him a 7. I thought he had a very good game. He really, really recovered. The first half he was a bit sloppy in that, but the second half he was the biggest threat going forward in the second half. Pulled up his rating for you because, yeah, you're right, the first half he wasn't... He pulled up his rating for me as well because I'm going to give him a little bit of a pass when we were saying about his performance because, don't forget, he's just come back to come back at Anfield in a massive game as well. It was a big, big ask for him and I think that he grew into the game. Once he got to the pace of it and all that, I thought second half, I thought he really stepped up, got to say that, like physically as well as that. It was a great effort for the, it was a great move, by the way, and a great save from Alisson. And there was a couple of times that he nearly picked out a pass and all that, like in difficult areas. So listen, I thought he'd done very well. Good comeback in the second half, 7 out of 10. One of you quickly just give me a word on Eze. Obviously, he didn't come on today. Is that just part of it? Because it's a football game. Not this time. I think when you look at the situation we're in, it's still only 1-0. They're pushing. It's the right move to bring on another defender. Okay, let's go to our striker today. Your boy, Kai Havertz. I'm going to give him 8 out of 10. He scored the goal. So some very, very good defensive work. If I'm going to have a criticism, Kai, today, I felt he could have been a little bit more physical with their forward. He got pushed off the ball a few times and all that. But defensively, he made some very, very important errors today. And listen, he's the match winner. And listen, that's all that matters. He's there when it mattered for the goal. So 8 out of 10 for me. 8 out of 10. I said it the other day. As poor as he's been the last few games, he is the type of guy that will turn up in these big games. Jack. I want to talk to you, yeah, because I told you this, almost like the guy's useless. Told you. Think about this season. He's had some poor games, right, in the last, you know, like you said, Lee, since he came out from injury. But he's now scored today. He scored in that game against, was it Bayern? Right. He scored against Chelsea. He turns up in these big games, man. He scored in the Champions League final. Right. And he's done it again today. It's the match winner. Eight. Hey, let's go to, I'm going to come to you, Leif, because you were singing his song, Noni Madueke. A little wiggle as well, like. I think at the end of the day, I think he, listen, a constant threat to them today. Always, not always come off, but I thought his work rate was sensational. I felt that he were... Got the ball, he took on their defender every single time, he caused them problems, he was physical, there were times when he was physical, he'd give a ball away a few times, but what summed him up, where the difference from him now to whenever he wanted to go, was there's a minute to go in that game and he went right across the park. Kept the ball, went down for a foul. I thought he was brilliant today. 8 out of 10, Noni Madueke. Yeah, I'm glad that he's getting his flowers from this game because he played really, really well. Really well. You know what I mean? And it's not the first time. It's not the first time he's played very well for this season. I mean, he won us a game at Forest, has been putting in good performances, you know what I mean? And, you know, you could see he was very confident today. I love the way he was taking players on, you know what I mean? So, eight out of ten, well deserved. He was showboating at times as well. When you see him do that, you know he's confident. It's good to see him. Showboating in the middle of the park. Not in the way you should have said. But if that goes wrong... Yeah, but it didn't, all right? It's a sign of confidence. Yes. But, but, Noni. Oh, no, here we go, here we go. No, no, no, that's out, that's out. Right, let's quickly run through the subs. Myles Lewis-Skelly. 7 out of 10. I thought we'd come on steady. We should have given the ball away once, but there was a couple of times in there. Wins the tackle. I just think he gives us a little bit more control in that midfield. Defensive. Defensively, I'm a big fan. I've got to say that. I like him in midfield. He's strong. He's going to get better and better. And if he continues developing areas, he's going to be one of the greater Arsenal. I'll tell you that. I've got to say that. 7 out of 10 today. He's a monster in that midfield, man. You know what I mean? Like, he is. He came on and just locked it down. What did they do after that when he came on? All right, there's that one time, like you said. He helped to lock down. When a manager is calling on you and saying, yeah, go in there and lock it off. That shows you at that age. Yeah. Brilliant, I'll tell you another thing, when he did lose that ball, Kai Havertz, I thank Kai Havertz for getting him racing back there, chasing back, and Nonny as well, they've done very, very well, got him out of jail there, but, you know, and that's what the team's for. In Capier? Yeah, it was a six because he didn't really have long, but listen, he came in and did what he had to do, I mean, he sent on just to shore it up. Seven for me because he'd done exactly what he was always out there to do. Won a few headers, won a few tackles. Um, and. And as Robbie said, shored it up like, you know, see the game out. I thought that was the right move. I did say that. Then I'll bring on a defensive one instead of an attacking one. And didn't let his manager down. Didn't let us down. So seven out of ten for me. Did Beckham slightly attack us up in Michael Marino? Well, because Martin Hologard's just, you know, I felt the fans should have gone on the pitch and carried him. And I'm making this shimmy. Back to the bench. Back to the bench, you know what I mean? It was out of order making him walk. Joke. I thought, you know, that was just to give him some fresh legs. And I'll tell you what, Mourinho done all right in there, like, you know, put himself on, terrible tackle on him at the end. Give it a rest. Give it. And every time, you know what I mean, they're having a go at the ref. I thought he was poor for both teams. But listen, Mourinho done his job, seven out of ten. Yep. Well, you know what, I think I'm going to have to upgrade because if I'm giving him a seven, I've got to get him and Kapi a seven as well. I've got to upgrade him. So seven, yeah. Okay, okay. Let's go to... Let's go to Victor Gyökeres. Victor, oh yeah, Victor came on as well, put himself about, you know what I mean, seven as well. Yeah, seven as well. I thought that was the right thing to do. Their central defenders tiring a little bit, having fresh legs on there. I thought there was a couple of runs that he'd done were really good. Seven out of ten. OK, I think that's all for us. Let's go to referees, then, Lee. Four. I thought he was poor for both teams. I know they're moaning about it every time, but you're always looking for excuses. I thought he was just poor. I'm going to give him a 10, man, because I keep seeing these Scousers walking past saying, the ref, the ref, right, like the ref lost in the game, right? But the fact that he's winding them up, 10. Ten. He was bad today. The line-ups were bad as well. Honestly, they couldn't see when he's throwing. For the ref, man. The official is... And they keep going saying, the ref, the ref. The ref. You lot bought the refs? The ref, the ref. 11. I'm at 11. Manager today, boys. Manager, listen, he's come here. We haven't won it for 12 years. He's got his tactics spot on. Even the little things like we said, he went along a little bit more than what he normally did. Team selection was right. Kept Havertz in. Got that right. Started with Zolas. Got that right. Right, you know what I mean? Got everything right, innit? You know what I mean? Come away from here, nine points above them. Top of the league. Disaster the other night, but today he's redeemed himself. Nine out of ten. I'm going for ten. You don't come to Anfield and put in a tactical masterclass like that, defending, I thought tactics were spot on today, team selection spot on. Are you entertained? I was entertained, and I think you have to ask yourself today, there were three big decisions there, and we all spoke about them. The three big decisions, Timber or Ben White, got that right. By the way, Bruno... Or Miles Skilley got it right because they both contributed. And the big one is, we've all said Havertz, Yorkie, or even Mourinho was mentioned. He went with Havertz, and he's got the winner. And went with Solis and not Eze as well. Solis as well. So, you know, I'm going to... Everything right? Yeah, you got everything right. 10 out of 10. Well done. Deserved 10 out of 10. One, made my birthday amazing before we go to the fans. And also, the response from Fleetwood is big because... And that stands for the manager. Yeah, exactly that. Exactly that. Exactly that. Deserved the 10. Let me go to the fans then today. Gentlemen. Yeah, listen, the fans were magnificent, man. You know what I mean? Like, it's great atmosphere in there from both sets of fans. I mean, these are the type of games, if you're a football fan, you want to, we're grateful to be at these type of games, honestly. And great atmosphere in there to 10 out of 10 for the fans. Long way to come, but the trip is short when you win. Can't argue with that. Like, you know, after Fleetwood, up and down, Blackpool and back, and then to do it again up north today. Fantastic, 10 out of 10. Yeah, now Prague and, well, first a journey back. In a nice, comfortable... We're stopping? Oh, I don't know. We're going to celebrate. You know what, right? Big up to Jason, man. You know what I mean? I think, you know, he's got to take a lot of applause. Of course. You know? Right? So, big him up, man, for what he did for you today. And happy birthday going out to you. Thank you. I didn't even stop. You're so comfortable in there. Did you see when we stopped, I didn't even get out. I didn't want to get out, man. It was beautiful in there. Well, ladies and gentlemen, that is it. I'm freezing, and I've had a great birthday. Thank you to everyone here at AFTV. Big up Jason, big up to all the fans, and big up the team! Pick up the manager. Congratulations to Arsenal. Arsenal fans in North America, AFTV is coming to you. 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