Mohamed Salah breaks Premier League record – Liverpool player ratings v Ipswich Town
Liverpool have won their first game of the 2024/25 Premier League season 2-0 against Ipswich at Portman Road on Saturday 17 August.
Arne Slot becomes the first Liverpool manager since Gerard Houllier in 2001 to win their first Premier League match.
The first half was a scrappy encounter, referee Tim Robinson blew his whistle more often than not in a stop-start opening 45 minutes where Ipswich had the better of the chances.
Liverpool came to life in the second half and, after a flurry of chances, Diogo Jota scored the first goal of the Slot era assisted by Mohamed Salah before the Egyptian doubled the advantage five minutes later.
Here, are the Liverpool News player ratings for the match.
Liverpool get off to a winning start in the Premier League
Alisson – 6
The Brazilian didn’t have much to do on Saturday afternoon, a lot of the work to thwart the Ipswich attack was dealt with by the defence. He made two comfortable saves to deny the home side and secure a clean sheet on the opening day.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
Alexander-Arnold had the biggest chance of the first half for the Reds but his effort from outside the opposition box flew over the crossbar. He couldn’t find his range as often as he’d have liked with his passes and corners but, he was on hand to stop the Ipswich attack on multiple occasions. Overall, he was solid in defence before he was replaced with ten minutes to go by Conor Bradley.
Jarell Quansah – 6
Liverpool fans will be eager to learn the reason for Quansah’s half-time substitution for Ibrahima Konate after a solid 45 minutes at Portman Road. The 21-year-old started the match strong, throwing his body on the line to block everything Ipswich threw at him. He was beaten by Liam Delap in a foot race towards the end of the first half and could have suffered a knock in the encounter, but hopefully, it is nothing too serious.
Virgil van Dijk – 7
The Liverpool captain was a commanding presence in the defence as always, albeit with a minor mistake in the opening minutes of the match he was his usual self on the opening day, nothing too much to shout about just a normal day in the office for van Dijk.
Andy Robertson – 7
Robertson spent most of the opening 45 minutes in his half as Wes Burns positioned himself high up the pitch and dealt well with the pressure on the left side, coming out on top in his battles with Burns. As Liverpool grew into the match, so did Robertson, he made his trademark darting runs up the left-hand side and provided an attacking threat for the Reds.
Ryan Gravenberch – 8
The Dutchman rewarded the faith bestowed on him by Slot and looked natural in the number six position. Gravenberch’s performance was reminiscent of Yaya Toure, winning every duel that came his way and bursting through the middle of the pitch shrugging off the opposition. Maybe Slot is right in not pursuing another defensive midfielder after Martin Zubimendi, Gravenberch looks a different player to the one that struggled for game time last season.
Alexis Mac Allister – 6
It was an off-day for Mac Allister in the middle of the park for Liverpool as the midfielder struggled to keep up with the intensity of the match. He had a shot blocked minutes before the opening goal and failed to make an impact throughout the game. He is still adjusting to the new system for the Reds but kept the ball moving in some excellent passing plays.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 6
The Hungarian looked like the same deflated player that ended the 2023/24 season during the first half but came out of the restart rejuvenated. He was influential with the ball at his feet, creating several chances for his teammates, and was losing possession a lot less than he did in the first 45 minutes. There is still a lot of work for Szoboszlai to replicate his RB Leipzig form but the signs are there he can do that for Liverpool.
Mohamed Salah breaks another Premier League record
Mohamed Salah – 9
Salah broke another record on Saturday afternoon, his goal made him the top goal scorer in the history of opening-day goals in the Premier League. The Egyptian topped his assist for Jota, with a goal for himself and single-handedly secured all three points for the Reds. We could be about to witness another prolific campaign from one of the best players to play in a Liverpool shirt.
Diogo Jota – 8
Jota is the most clinical finisher in this Liverpool side and keeping him match-fit needs to be a priority for Slot this season. The Portuguese striker broke the deadlock with a tidy finish past Christian Walton and has cemented his place as the starting number nine in front of Darwin Nunez. We all know what Jota is capable of when given the opportunity and has shown his quality again.
Luis Diaz – 8
It was the same old story for Diaz, he did everything right at Portman Road but missed the clinical edge to get himself on the scoresheet. The Colombian kept finding himself in dangerous positions but lacked the composure to find the back of the net on more than one occasion. That being said, he was electric down the wing and tortured the Ipswich defence all game, a good sign of what is to come from the winger this season.
Subs
Ibrahima Konate – 6
Conor Bradley – 6
Cody Gakpo – 5
Kostas Tsimikas – 5
In other Liverpool news, Don Goodman has backed the Reds’ sensible transfer approach.
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