Rating the Liverpool Players Against Thailand

Liverpool completed the last leg of their preseason summer tour with a comfortable 3-0 win over Thailand on Sunday. 

Philippe Coutinho, Iago Aspas and Steven Gerrard all found the back of the net, as manager Brendan Rodgers started pushing his side's fitness further, with many starters managing the full 90 minutes this time around. 

Here are the player ratings from the Reds' fourth game, and victory, of the summer.

Goalkeeper: Simon Mignolet

Mignolet: 8/10

Liverpool's new stopper Simon Mignolet has yet to be truly tested in a Red shirt, but his performance against Thailand was nothing short of excellent in terms of what he actually had to do.

The Belgian took every high ball into the area with authority and confidence, showed good technique in distributing the ball to his defence and, most importantly of all, was seen to be constantly directing those in front of him, talking to them, keeping them in position.

He also pulled off a single spectacular save, diving away to his left to keep out a fierce shot.

This was far from the biggest test he'll face, but he passed it with flying colours.

Full-Backs: Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique

Johnson: 6/10

Enrique: 6/10

Very early on this summer, it looks apparent that full-backs will be even more a key part of the team this coming season than they were last year.

There is less natural width in the Liverpool attack than ever before at this stage, with almost every "wide" outfield player encouraged to roam infield at every chance. As such, responsibility lies with the full-backs to press high up the field often, maintain possession in wide areas and aid the attackers to create chances.

Right now, there is neither enough depth in the squad nor enough quality starting in these areas to give hope that the Reds will make the best use of their tactics.

Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique are not yet at peak fitness, but the lack of real technical quality on show against mediocre opposition over the last couple of weeks is the more pressing concern.

Centre-Backs: Kolo Toure and Daniel Agger

Toure: 7/10

Agger: 7/10

By the looks of preseason so far, Kolo Toure and Daniel Agger will be Liverpool's defensive pairing on the opening day of the season.

Ivorian Toure has brought great organisation and direction to the back line, and it could well be that he figures for the first team far more than many thought likely when he initially signed. Toure made several blocks and tackles during the match against Thailand, but his constant talking and encouragement is maybe the most important and overlooked factor of his short Reds career so far.

Agger, for his part, was unusually dominant in the air and completely excellent on the ground. The two have quickly formed a good understanding, which might have convinced Rodgers he needs not look for another centre-back just yet.

Central Midfielders: Lucas Leiva, Joe Allen and Steven Gerrard

Lucas: 5/10

Allen: 6/10

Gerrard: 7/10

Liverpool went with a fluid-looking three-man midfield, which often switched in who supported the front men during the first half, but despite playing against significantly inferior opposition, the same old problems were at times apparent.

The Reds still lack someone who can adequately protect the back four and stop runners from deep having an impact in the game. Lucas failed to deal properly with the infrequent threat posed to Liverpool from these situations, and his passing was unfortunately off-key as well on the night.

Joe Allen was more impressive, neatly using the ball in the centre of the field and trying to be more adventurous—not always with great success—further up the field.

Steven Gerrard was largely quiet for 50 minutes or so but was heavily involved for the rest of the second half and should have ended the game with two goals. As it was, he scored once, a well-taken first-time effort, and hit the bar with a delicate chip after squandering an easy one-on-one chance to score.

On a Slide of His Own: Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho: 9/10, MOTM

Let's just take a moment to appreciate the goal in the video first.

Done? Good. Coutinho eased himself away from no fewer than four challenges, on the sprint, before keeping his composure to send the keeper the wrong way as he opened the scoring in the first half.

The Brazilian has been sublime since joining from Inter Milan in January, and preseason has allowed him to showcase his full range of abilities against less-savvy opposition than some of the Premier League cloggers who are unlikely to allow him quite so much space this year.

Coutinho's movement and vision is always apparent, but against Thailand he also enjoyed the freedom of his tactical role in the team, dropping deep to gain possession before constantly spinning away from his markers and heading toward goal.

This was a great performance from a great player who has quickly become key to everything Liverpool do.

Forwards: Iago Aspas and Fabio Borini

Aspas: 6/10

Borini: 7/10

Liverpool seemed to line up in a 4-3-3 system, but there was little width provided by the likes of Coutinho and Aspas for most of the game. The Spaniard lined up on the pitch in close proximity to centre-forward Fabio Borini, and the two would have perhaps hoped to fare a little better in the final third.

True, the Reds didn't create too much for an hour or so, but both Borini and Aspas perhaps needed to get themselves a little more involved to raise the tempo, to try to create their own chances in the game.

Borini showed good aggression and pace at times in running in behind the defence, and he was unlucky that two or three times the through balls were a little overhit.

Aspas scored his third goal of the summer for Liverpool when he turned smartly on the edge of the area and finished under the keeper for his side's second goal.

Neither did themselves much harm with their performance, but again, neither made a thoroughly compelling case for regular inclusion either.

Substitutes: Suarez, Henderson, Ibe, Skrtel, Alberto

Suarez: 6/10

Ibe: 7/10

Henderson: 7/10

Skrtel: 6/10

Alberto: n/a

As promised, Brendan Rodgers restricted the number of subs he made to allow several players the full 90 minutes.

Jordon Ibe continued his progression in the team with an energetic run out on the right flank, and he was twice involved with slaloming runs to help create chances for the team. On the evidence of the summer so far, he can expect to significantly add to his solitary first-team competitive appearance over the next 10 months.

Luis Suarez flitted in and out of the game for half an hour, cracking a header from close range against the cross bar and dropping deep to collect possession a number of times, but he never really got going.

Jordan Henderson broke forward into the penalty area with regularity after coming on, giving Liverpool an extra body centrally often enough, and he came close to scoring with a close-range shot at the end of a flowing move that he himself instigated.

Martin Skrtel had very little to do at the back, while Luis Alberto only played 10 minutes.

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