Liverpool 5-2 Norwich City: Canaries FA Cup player ratings

George Long

Not much he could do about the goals that beat him, and was behind a defence regularly exposed by Liverpool’s excellent attackers. Did produce one very good double save to deny Diogo Jota and then Ryan Gravenberch, however.

Distribution was where Long let himself down, his chipped balls to full-backs lacking the pace they needed to work effectively and leaving Norwich exposed in wide areas at times. But not a poor performance overall. 6

Jack Stacey

Had the energy and athleticism to do as much of the defensive side as possible in the first half while also providing a rare attacking threat. Wasted two chances to cross when he got into those offensive positions, however, and was exposed by Jota in the second half.

Building some momentum with his recent performances, even he couldn’t quite keep up with the level of opposition here. 6

Jack Stacey and David Wagner in discussion during the game (Image: PA)

Grant Hanley

Did as much as he could to block, clear and tackle as is his strength, but formed part of a defence that structurally was all over the place and offered little in possession.

Encouraging to see him back from injury, with Norwich fans undoubtedly hopeful that he can help boost their play-off push. But he’s typically taken time to find rhythm after periods out of the team, and this was an example of that. 4

Ben Gibson

Made it 1-1 with an excellent flicked header at the near post to his sheer delight, but was fairly sloppy in possession and made mistakes defensively. The headliner was his failure to clear when heading before Jota’s game-sealing goal, but there were other defensive issues.

The passion in his celebration showed how much it meant to him, but the technical and tactical qualities may not be quite good enough to earn him a new deal. Some good aerial clearances, but still work to be done. 5

Ben Gibson celebrates scoring to make it 1-1 (Image: PA Images)

Sam McCallum

A good technical and physical force down the left, and an especially impressive performer as the visitors looked to counter in the first half.

Started the attack that led to the equaliser, charging forward before delivering a ball Christian Fassnacht connected with. His long throw found Hanley for another half-chance towards the end of the half.

Tailed off in the second half, especially when the calibre of opposition improved with Luis Diaz’ introduction. Pushed his claims for a start against former side Coventry on Saturday. 6

Kenny McLean

Not a great showing from the Scot, after Wednesday’s trip to Leeds highlighted why he’s such a key cog in the collective yellow and green wheel.

Caught out with a loose touch in the second minute that almost allowed the hosts in on goal. Jumped in to try to stop the Reds’ second, but was caught woefully out of position as they moved it around him.

Improved in the second half, but the game was gone by then. 5

Marcelino Nunez

One of the Norfolk side’s more impressive performers once more, although he wasn’t perfect. Buzzed around again making smart passes and helping Norwich play out with his smooth technicality, but let concentration slip at times and lost the ball in key areas.

One such situation should have resulted in a goal for namesake Darwin, after Dominik Szoboszlai slipped the Uruguayan through on goal. Struggled to deal with the athletic home midfield defensively. 6

Christian Fassnacht

Worked hard defensively and had some success early on, but saw that tail off and played more of an attacking role in the second half. Seems to have the right ideas with the wrong execution, as displayed a number of times on the counter.

Had the ball in the net when Borja Sainz set him up, only for the Spaniard to be ruled offside. 5

Gabriel Sara

A fairly absent performance from the Brazilian in truth, aside from the corner Gibson flicked beyond Alisson and a 30-yard drive that flew just wide. Good to see him adding assists to his game again, but Sara needs to be more involved and more consistent to prove he can play at the highest level. 5

Onel Hernandez

Looked the perfect fit for City’s counter-attacking system and nearly made it work a couple of times, but just couldn’t quite get the best of Connor Bradley and Jarell Quansah on the right side of the Liverpool defence.

Threatened to create at times, but a fairly typical performance of significant smoke with no fire. 5

Ashley Barnes

Held the ball up well and gave a firm test to young Liverpool defender Quansah, but often saw his lack of pace exposed when he could have been used on the counter. Also appeared to tire, with his impact decreasing as the game went on.

Replaced by Adam Idah midway through the second period, but looks fairly likely to start alongside Josh Sargent next weekend with the improvement he shows alongside the American. 5

SUBSTITUTES

Jacob Sorensen (on for Hanley, 61)

Part of a defence that looked very shaky and could have conceded more late on, but that was also true prior to his introduction. Some nice moments in possession. 5

Borja Sainz (on for Hernandez, 61)

Exactly the impact any coach homes for from a substitute. First teed up Fassnacht but was ruled offside, then smashed a fantastic finish past Alisson from 25 yards. Looked like he could haul Norwich back into it single-handedly at that point, and had some more bright moments, but couldn’t do it all by himself. 8

Adam Idah (on for Barnes, 61)

Threatened to get in behind, and was more mobile than Barnes, but barely got into the game and didn’t trouble Alisson once. 4

Liam Gibbs (on for Fassnacht, 83)

One run down the wing before delivering straight into Alisson’s arms.

Dimitris Giannoulis (on for McCallum, 83)

A substitution that served very little purpose. 5