Zonal Marking IX – Liverpool F.C. v Chelsea F.C.

For one of the few times in the 2019-2020 campaign, a defender, a midfielder and an attacker all featured on the score sheet during Liverpool’s penultimate game of the season with goals from Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Naby Keita, Gini Wijnaldum and Alexander Arnold.

Goalkeeper and defence

Christian Pulisic, the man who opened the scoring on the night that crowned Liverpool as champions of England, made a sensational run on the wing after he got past Gomez, skimmed it past van Dijk and left Alisson stranded in goal. He then scored another a few moments later, but these were more cases of the American being brilliant than they were of Jürgen Klopps men being awful.

Neither team looked great defensively on the night but there were some real moments of attacking excellence from Liverpool’s defence. Andrew Robertson sprinted the full length of the pitch to make Liverpool’s second half counterattack a success, and Kepa was forced to watch Trent Alexander-Arnold’s sublime free kick sail past him to put the Reds 2-0 up.

It was one of the worst performances from Liverpool’s men at the back this season, but also one of the best from them in terms of the attacking chances that they created.

Score – 7

Midfield

As Liverpool’s standout man since the return of Premier League football last month, Naby Keita put in another fantastic performance on the night. Whilst Jordan Henderson adds a sense of structure to Liverpool’s midfield, Keita is able to drive this side forward from the centre of the pitch and his strike in the opening 20 minutes of the game showcased this brilliantly.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain did well to receive Robertson’s cross and power it home for Liverpool’s fifth goal of the evening, whilst Gini Wijnaldum capitalised on Chelsea’s sloppy play at back and put one into the top corner to the frustration of Frank Lampard on the side-lines.

Score – 8

Attack

He did it. For the first time in 490 days, Roberto Firmino scored a goal at Anfield. Trent’s cross into the box put it on a plate for him to score but it will no doubt come as a relief for the Brazilian as we look ahead to next season.

A fantastic one-two set Salah through on goal in the second half, but he hit it with the outside of his foot and the ball spun well wide. He was also set on goal from Robertson’s cross later on, but this time his shot was sent straight towards Kepa. “You didn’t want to score today Mo?” joked Virgil van Dijk in the changing rooms after the game.

Score – 8

Mane of the match – Trent Alexander-Arnold