NUFC player ratings vs Liverpool - One 8.5, two 8s, a few 6s and 7s, several 5s and one 3

A brave performance from the Magpies who fell to a 2-0 loss to Liverpool last night. A damaging defeat in more ways than one, but we performed admirably given we spent the majority of the match with 10 men.

Nick Pope - 3 - Awful lapse in judgement resulting in an inevitable red card. Such a shame for him, as it was his first big error of the season. Will be a huge miss for the final and will obviously be devastated.

Kieran Trippier - 5 - Really poor first half playing Liverpool onside for their first goal and giving the ball away at too many opportunities. Battled well second half before being substituted for Jacob Murphy.

Fabian Schar - 5 - Looked complacent in the first half and gifted Liverpool a goal with poor positional play.

Sven Botman - 5 - Showed flashes of quality on the ball but seemed to struggle with the pace of the game in the first half. Not as good positionally as he has been in recent months.

Dan Burn - 5 - Struggled against Mo Salah all evening. Looked uncomfortable with the pace that Liverpool displayed.

Sean Longstaff - 6 - Struggled to cope with the energy from Liverpool’s midfield and made a few key errors in possession. He did run himself into the ground, however, putting in the hard yards to make up for their man advantage.

Joelinton - 8 - An absolute monster in midfield all evening, trying his best to dominate Liverpool despite the man deficit. Got forward brilliantly and attempted to enforce his presence on the game. A brave and combative performance from our Brazilllian enforcer.

Elliot Anderson - N/A - Looked lively and showed some good dribbling before being sacrificed for Dubravka following Pope’s early red card. Feel for him, but his time will come.

Miguel Almiron - 7 - Looked lively before the red card but struggled for support following that. Always endeavouring in the press but failed to effect the game going forward. Had one big chance saved by Alisson early on.

Allan Saint-Maximin - 8.5* - Looked up for it from minute one against Alexander Arnold. Will have been devastated with the red card as I fancied him tonight to make a titanic difference in the game. Looked a constant threat all night despite the lack of support, therefore expect to now see him start on Sunday in the final. Decision making was much improved, he looked much fitter and posed a threat all night.

Alexander Isak - 8 - Despite having no attacking support, held the ball up brilliantly and did as best as he could. An extremely good performance under the circumstances and one he can build on going forward.

Substitutes:

Martin Dubravka - 7 - Was really solid when he came on, demonstrating the abilities he showed in the past. Devastated he is not available for the final.

Anthony Gordon - 7 - Looked sharp when coming on, trying to make things happen and run at the Liverpool defence, although he did sometimes struggled to dribble past his man. Some nice give and goes and could've got an assist had Wilson taken his chance.

Callum Wilson - 5 - Didn’t offer a great deal after coming on. Struggled for service, but had one big chance saved by Alisson when we did create an opening.

Jacob Murphy - 5 - Filled in down the right to give Trippier a rest. Did OK at both ends without making any major contribution.

Matt Ritchie - 5 - His first appearance in a long while but failed to make a telling impact on the match.