AFC Wimbledon vs. Liverpool: Winners and Losers from FA Cup Game
Liverpool are through to the next round of the FA Cup following Monday's 2-1 win over AFC Wimbledon at Kingsmeadow.
Steven Gerrard opened the scoring with a header for the guests in the 12th minute. But shortly before the interval, Adebayo Akinfenwa notched an equalizer for the hosts.
With the game calling out for a hero, it was Gerrard who stepped up with what proved to be the winner in the 62nd minute, when his swerving free-kick beat goalkeeper James Shea to the near corner.
Overall, there were several standout performers in the match, as well as one or two who were rather less impressive.
Following are the winners and losers from this domestic cup encounter.
Winner: Sean Rigg, Who Proved a Handful for Emre Can
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Sean Rigg created two chances for himself in what was an eye-catching night from the Wimbledon winger.
Shortly before Steven Gerrard opened the scoring for Liverpool, the 26-year-old got himself around Reds defender Emre Can before pulling his shot just wide of the far post.
Then in the 52nd minute, he once again turned Can but this time missed at the near post.
Liverpool left-back Javier Manquillo, who was generally poor before being withdrawn with 19 minutes remaining, was nowhere to be seen in either instance.
Loser: Rickie Lambert, Who Took Just a Single Shot
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Rickie Lambert hit the target with each shot he took on Monday, but unfortunately for the Liverpool striker, there was only one of those.
Lambert, who has scored just twice this season, placed a meek effort into the waiting arms of AFC Wimbledon goalkeeper James Shea midway through the second half after being set up by Steven Gerrard.
In his 79 minutes of action before being withdrawn in favour of Mario Balotelli, the 32-year-old failed to involve himself in the Reds' buildup play. And while he was starved of possession, he rarely made himself an option at Kingsmeadow, either.
As the BBC's Phil McNulty opined on Twitter, Lambert was "very poor" against Wimbledon.
Winner: Lazar Markovic, Who Was a Bright Spot in the Liverpool Attack
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He took just two shots on Monday, but until his exit in the 86th minute at Kingsmeadow, Lazar Markovic was among the more useful components of Liverpool's buildup play.
Time and again, the 20-year-old gained attacking space for his side by carrying the ball downfield on the dribble, and it's telling that much of what AFC Wimbledon mustered going forward came on the opposite side of the pitch from Markovic.
According to WhoScored, Markovic touched the ball 61 times in the match and, quite impressively, completed 91 percent of his passes.
Loser: The Liverpool Defence, Which Looked Very, Very Shaky
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Liverpool started Monday's match in full control, but after testing the opposition defence once or twice, the AFC Wimbledon attackers began to fancy their chances to score a goal.
Emre Can, on the right-hand side of the Reds' three-man defensive setup, was exposed time and again by Sean Rigg, and Mamadou Sakho's awkward clearing attempt following a 38th-minute corner allowed Adebayo Akinfenwa to restore level terms.
"Liverpool so vulnerable at the back," tweeted Phil McNulty of the BBC.
Winner: Adebayo Akinfenwa, Who Scored a First-Half Equaliser
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Bulky AFC Wimbledon striker Adebayo Akinfenwa—the "strongest footballer in the world" according to FIFA 15 player rankings, as per talkSPORT—scored a dream goal in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday.
After the Liverpool defense failed to clear a corner kick, the large-framed 32-year-old stabbed the ball into the back of the net from in close, temporarily pulling his side level at Kingsmeadow.
"Feed the Beast and he will score," joked The Telegraph's Henry Winter on Twitter.
"Scrambled home by Akinfenwa. And that had been coming. [Liverpool] defending is all over the place," analyzed The Times' Oliver Kay.
Winner: Steven Gerrard, Who Delivered a Match-Winning Performance
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"The long goodbye continues in style," Winter via Twitter following MLS-bound Steven Gerrard's free-kick against AFC Wimbledon in the 62nd minute on Monday.
"Lot of people saying Gerrard is showing Liverpool are crazy to let him go so easily," added the Guardian's David Conn.
Indeed, Gerrard's was a match-winning performance at Kingsmeadow.
It was his header that put Liverpool in front after just 12 minutes, and following his defensive error shortly after the restart, he redeemed himself with a critical, headed clearance off the line that preserved what was at the time a 1-1 draw.
But shortly after the hour-mark, Gerrard took it upon himself to restore the Reds' lead when his swerving free-kick beat goalkeeper James Shea at the near corner.
"Steven Gerrard wrecks match for nostalgia lovers while proving he's not yesterday's man just yet," Eurosport feistily tweeted at the final whistle.
