Pepe Reina – 7 – Not his busiest afternoon, but everything he did, he did well, and his distribution remains the best in the business. Glen Johnson – 7 – Under extra scrutiny defensively after England critique, but handled the threat of Robbie Blake adequately and offered plenty going forward. Emiliano Insua – 7 – Liverpool fans are very fond of his young Argentine, and he added to his burgeoning reputation with another solid display here. Mature defensively and progressive in possession. Martin Skrtel – 6 – Not at his best today, and may have been punished had Burnley possessed more firepower. Caught in possession a few times and misjudged a couple of high balls. Improved after the break though. Jamie Carragher – 7 – Solid and dependable game from Liverpool’s rock, Carragher mopped up everything he needed to and is still one of the best and most consistent defenders in the game Lucas Leiva – 8 – Described by Rafa Benitez post match as “our key player today”, the Brazilian produced a commanding performance in central midfield, kept the ball superbly and offered excellent support going both ways. One of his best games for the club. Steven Gerrard – 8 – Started from a deeper position, but his attacking urges were not diminished. Drove Liverpool forward with his energy and desire, created a goal superbly for Benayoun, and could have had a couple himself. Albert Riera – 6 – On the receiving end of a Benitez verbal volley during a patchy first half, the Spaniard did improve after the break, but was a peripheral figure as his peers took centre stage. Yossi Benayoun – 9 – Quiet first fifteen minutes erupted into life with a beautifully taken first goal, from then on the Israeli dominated the game with his touch, movement and quality, thoroughly deserved his hat-trick, and might have had another goal were it not for a dubious offside call. Dirk Kuyt – 8 – Deployed centrally, the Dutchman set the tone with his work ethic and link up play. Showed his poacher’s instinct to grab the all-important second goal, and was menacing all afternoon. Fernando Torres – 6 – Found life tough against the physical presence of Andre Bikey & Clarke Carlisle, but kept them on their toes with clever movement and purposeful runs. Involved heavily in the counter attack for the second goal, and on another day might have scored himself. SUBS Phillipp Degen – 6 – Spent most of his game going forward, as Burnley were spent as an attacking force by the time he came on, but the Swiss is very much a deputy at this time. Andriy Voronin – 7 – The good and the bad from the Ukrainian. The good being his smart assist for Benayoun’s third goal, and a lovely backheel from which Gerrard probably should have scored, the bad being a horrible miss when put clean through late on. David Ngog – 6 – Like Lucas, has beefed up over the summer and looks a lot more confident. Not much time to impress here, but expect to see more of the Frenchman this season. BURNLEY Brian Jensen – 5 – “The Beast” is a cult hero at Burnley, but he let himself down today by spilling a number of shots, one of which was punished by Kuyt. Did make a pair of saves to deny Gerrard which were noteworthy, but not his best day today. Tyrone Mears – 6 – Lively early on raiding down the right, but was effectively stymied by Riera & Insua, and faded away as quickly as his team did. Stephen Jordan – 5 – Given a torrid time by Benayoun, the former Manchester City man was eventually booked for hauling him down, and will not wish to view a repeat of this particular contest. Andre Bikey – 5 – A giant of a man, Bikey is content to head away high balls all day, but when Liverpool played a passing game, he came unstuck, and was exposed cruelly in the second half. Clarke Carlisle – 6 – Interesting early tussle with Torres, in which he held his own, but was powerless to stop the Red tide after the first goal went in. Wade Elliott – 5 – Has been rated-highly so far this season but today he was anonymous as the Clarets struggled to get their attacking players on the ball. Robbie Blake – 5 – Shackled well by Johnson, interesting to note his angry reaction to being substituted. In truth he had done little of note during his time on the pitch. Graham Alexander – 5 – Very much the leader of this team with his vocalism, but had a day to forget as he spent most of it chasing Steven Gerrard’s shadow. Chris McCann – 5 – Like Alexander, was painfully exposed by quality opposition. Probably the one player on Burnley’s team who looked out of his depth today. Martin Paterson – 6 – Lively early on, forcing a save from Reina with a powerful drive, but faded away and was anonymous in the second half. Steven Fletcher – 6 – Switched between wide midfield and centre forward, with minimal success. Looks more suited to a forward role, and there were some promising signs in his strength and hold up play. SUBS Chris Eagles – 5 – Game was over when he came on, and he had very little influence, dragging a half chance well wide. David Nugent – 6 – Booed on his arrival by Liverpool fans, the debutant showed a few glimpses of what can be expected with some intelligent runs into the channel and a good work rate, almost created a shooting chance for himself late on but was hustled out.
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