Rating the Liverpool Players Against QPR

Brendan Rodgers might have been forced to watch the match on television from his sick bed, but Liverpool turned in one of their more convincing displays of the season to easily beat Queens Park Rangers 3-0 at Loftus Road in their manager's absence.

The victory was never really in doubt once Luis Suarez tricked his way into the QPR box to give the Reds the lead inside 10 minutes, and after Suarez doubled the lead just minutes later, a header from Daniel Agger made it three before the half-hour mark.

Liverpool cruised through the rest of the match to win with a few gears to spare and move up to ninth place in the Premier League table ahead of their first match of 2013 against Sunderland on Wednesday.

Here are the ratings for the Liverpool players:

Pepe Reina

Reina was merely a spectator in the first half at Loftus Road as the Reds dominated both possession and territory to establish their dominance, with their goalkeeper surely feeling like the odd man out.

QPR did improve markedly in the second half but still didn't force Reina into doing anything spectacular, with the Spanish goalkeeper making two comfortable saves from long-range efforts from Stephane Mbia and not really being required to do much else.

Reina marshaled his defence well, but he will have few more comfortable days than this all season.

Rating: 7/10

Glen Johnson

It quickly became apparent that Liverpool's defence wasn't going to come under the same amount of pressure that they experienced in the loss at Stoke on Boxing Day, and so Johnson and company were free to express themselves.

The right-back wasn't troubled by anything that came down QPR's left, and so he was free to bomb forward and join in with Liverpool's frequent attacks, with Julio Cesar cutting out his ball across the box which Suarez was waiting to turn in.

Johnson will have enjoyed himself at Loftus Road and can take this confidence into future games.

Rating: 8/10

Martin Skrtel

It may have been his central defensive partner's turn to get on the scoresheet this weekend, but nonetheless Skrtel once again went about his job with a minimum of fuss.

No doubt left as bruised as anyone by the Stoke loss, Skrtel may have been fortunate to come up against a powder-puff QPR attack, but he did everything required of him and more.

The task now will be to repeat the performance consistently.

Rating: 7/10

Daniel Agger

Having missed the target from a matter of inches against Fulham last weekend, Agger was able to score from somewhat further out when he latched onto Steven Gerrard's cross to power home Liverpool's third goal.

It was a second strike of the season for the Dane, and put the gloss on a composed display from the central defender which once again oozed the class of which he is capable.

Keeping Agger injury-free must be at the top of Liverpool's New Year's resolutions list, as on this form there are few better.

Rating: 8/10

Jose Enrique

Like Johnson, Enrique was freely able to get forward and join in with Liverpool's attack due to the lack of threat from QPR's flanks, and it was once again another composed display from the Spaniard.

His link with Suarez means that he's always looking for him, and it was another display which underlined the improvement that the left-back has made under Rodgers.

The hamstring injury which forced him off in the 71st minute was a blow, and Liverpool can only hope that it isn't too serious.

Rating: 7/10

Joe Allen

A seamless return to the team after sitting out the last two matches for the Welshman, who slotted into midfield with ease.

Playing in the centre with Gerrard, he helped dominate an area in which Mbia and Samba Diakite ended up looking overrun, as Allen was able to swap passes with his skipper and set the platform for Liverpool to dominate so impressively in the opening half an hour.

He was eventually replaced by Jamie Carragher in the closing stages, but not after he'd put in an excellent shift.

Rating: 8/10

Steven Gerrard

Home defenders appeared to be watching Gerrard in quiet awe for most of the game, as he simply played the fixture at his own pace.

Surprisingly given one of the deeper midfield roles as opposed to the most attacking one, Gerrard and Allen were able to take advantage of the complete lack of defensive awareness from Adel Taarabt to control play from the centre of the pitch and dictate just what was going to happen.

His cross from Agger's goal was typically precise, as the skipper ended 2012 in fine form.

Rating: 8/10

Jordan Henderson

Henderson's midfield energy was already impressive even before Colin Pascoe revealed that the midfielder had been one of those struggling with the illness which saw Rodgers have to return home, and the 22-year-old impressed on just his fourth Premier League start of the season.

The midfielder was surprisingly given the midfield role closest to Suarez, and he responded with a strong running display that pressed his claims for further inclusion.

Illness meant that he only lasted 63 minutes, but the youngster will hope to have done enough for a start against his former club Sunderland on Wednesday.

Rating: 8/10

Stewart Downing

It was a seventh start in the last eight league games for Downing, who appears to have turned the tide in a Liverpool career that seemed to be headed for closure.

He didn't sparkle at Loftus Road, but once again showed his value to the squad when Enrique's injury saw him shifted to left-back for the final 20 minutes, before which he'd offered support to Suarez and combined with the Uruguayan in the buildup to his second goal.

Where he'll be when new faces arrive in the New Year remains to be seen, though.

Rating: 7/10

Raheem Sterling

Emotions were sure to be running high for Sterling as he made a first return to the club he left for Liverpool when he was 15 years old, but the teenager turned in another mature display.

After being left out of the starting lineup in the past two games, Sterling took a while to get into his stride in west London, but by the end of the game his strong running had turned into Liverpool's best hope of scoring a fourth goal.

That didn't arrive, but another step in Sterling's development certainly did.

Rating: 7/10

Luis Suarez

Clint Hill will be happy that he doesn't have to come up against Suarez every week.

The Uruguayan tormented the QPR defender before scoring a fantastic opener for his club, with his quick thinking adding a second goal before the opening 20 minutes were up.

He threatened a third throughout the rest of the game but one never arrived, with Reds fans now hoping that he can take this stellar form into the new year.

The signs are that he will.

Rating: 9/10

Substitutes

Lucas Leiva (on for Henderson, 63 mins): A breather for the Brazilian, who continued his gradual return to fitness with an appearance off the bench for the final half an hour. He kept things as simple as you'd expect.

Suso (on for Enrique, 71 mins): On for his good friend Enrique following a hamstring injury, the youngster glided through the closing stages with ease.

Jamie Carragher (on for Allen, 87 mins): Another midfield cameo for the veteran, who must have felt like stepping into the manager's chair in Rodgers' absence.