Chelsea vs. Liverpool: Rating the Victorious Reds' Players

Liverpool lifted themselves back into sixth position in the Premier League, level on points with Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham, with victory over the Blues at Stamford Bridge by two goals to one, courtesy of strikes from Maxi Rodriguez and Glen Johnson.

An energetic first half performance saw the Reds go in ahead at the break, and though Chelsea fought back after the interval to peg Liverpool back, the Reds arguably finished the stronger side and took a deserved three points with Johnson's late strike.

Here are the ratings for the Liverpool players in the victory.

Goalkeeper: Pepe Reina

Pepe Reina had a strangely comfortable game for most of the match and was really only called into action in a five-minute spell a little while after halftime.

While Didier Drogba drilled a free kick just wide of his goal and John Obi Mikel shot over his bar in the first half, Reina was not called upon to deal with a shot on target until he had to pick the ball out of his net after substitute Daniel Sturridge knocked in at his far post.

One minute later Branislav Ivanovic flicked a header goalwards which Reina did superbly well to save low to his left.

Visibly annoyed at his defence on occasions when they could have been quicker to close down the opposition, Reina continued to skipper the side as stand in for Gerrard and Carragher in admirable fashion.

8/10—quiet enough, as a goalkeeper likes to be, but an eight for his wonder save alone

Full-Backs: Glen Johnson and Jose Enrique

Glen Johnson had his finest game of the season with an attacking display on the right side for Liverpool.

Though he was on occasion beaten down his side of defence and allowed a couple of crosses to come in, and indeed might even have been a little quicker to close down Florent Malouda for the Chelsea equaliser, he was largely solid and played his part in a good defensive performance.

In attack, though, he was a real threat for Liverpool in the first half with two or three thrusting runs from deep which caused problems for Chelsea's defence.

Johnson topped it off with the winning goal three minutes from full time after another solo run and fine left-footed finish.

8/10—decent in defence and devastating in attack

Jose Enrique, by contrast, had maybe his quietest game from an attacking point of view but was extremely solid in defence.

Beaten early on by Juan Mata, he recovered to win the ball back and from then on was solid and unpassable on the left of Liverpool's defence.

He didn't offer a huge amount of attacking support but still a decent performer.

7/10—played his part in a good defensive performance

Central Defence: Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger

Martin Skrtel put in another commendable shift as he showed Kenny Dalglish was right to keep the returning Jamie Carragher on the bench following two clean sheets with Skrtel and Agger partnered in the centre.

Skrtel won his share of ground and aerial challenges and covered well when Chelsea looked to break through the centre.

An impressive game and he brought the ball out of defence well.

8/10—nothing more could be asked than keeping Drogba, and later Torres in check

Daniel Agger similarly was reliable and strong in defence and can be pleased with his overall contribution.

He was not involved in as many direct battles for the ball as his partner but led the defensive line better than his opposite number John Terry, and Agger is growing in his role as organiser of the back line, something which will be important for Liverpool the longer Carragher remains absent from the starting 11.

7/10—another decent game from the Dane

Central Midfield: Lucas Leiva and Charlie Adam

Lucas had one of his more industrious games this season and was quick into the challenges in the first half and tried to keep the passing more or less quick and simple.

Threatened to be bypassed a little in the second half as Chelsea changed tack but Lucas was an important player all game long in gaining a foothold in the game and then defending the lead later on.

6/10—could have been better with his distribution but his tackling and pressing was a feature of Liverpool's game

Charlie Adam had by far his best game in a Liverpool shirt to date.

His constant harrying and pressurisation of Chelsea's back line and midfield epitomised the Reds' efforts in the first half and he was instrumental in everything Liverpool did.

He won the ball back for the opening goal and never stopped pressing Chelsea when they had the ball. In the second half his passing was crisp enough once Liverpool made their change of system and he set up Glen Johnson for the winner with an accurate cross-field pass.

The one black mark on his game was his set piece taking, strangely, which was woeful from the first minute to the last.

9/10—bossed the game in the first half and was key to both of Liverpool's goals

Wide Players: Dirk Kuyt and Maxi Rodriguez

Maxi Rodriguez made his first start of the season in the league as Dalglish surprisingly opted to recall him in favour of both Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson, and the Argentinian came up trumps big time in the first half.

His goal was the icing on the cake and just reward for his endeavour and movement which had already seen him sneak in behind the Chelsea defence two or three times prior to this.

His work-rate and understanding of how and where the Liverpool attackers were going to pass the ball was key to a great first 45 minutes from the Reds.

Faded in the second half, which is to be expected given his lack of game time recently and Chelsea working their way back into the game.

7/10—got a goal and caused plenty of trouble with his off the ball work

Dirk Kuyt had one of his more quiet games in Red and wasn't really involved in anything dramatic in attack, or in defence, but as ever his non-stop work ethic and constant availability to teammates make him an important inclusion to the team.

He was one of several players in the first half who pressed the opposition at every opportunity and Kuyt gave everything to the cause.

He messed up his one chance of a shot when he dragged wide late on.

6/10—quiet game on the ball but hard working

Forwards: Craig Bellamy and Luis Suarez

Craig Bellamy made his second league start of the season and was full of energy and life in the first half being his usual nuisance self and causing problems for the Chelsea back line.

He got the assist for the first goal after exchanging passes with his partner up top and then finding Maxi Rodriguez and will be confident of having done enough to keep his place in the side for the forthcoming clash against Manchester City, even if it might be in a different position.

7/10—good first 45 minutes and proved he can be much more than just a super sub for Liverpool

Luis Suarez busied himself from the first minute to last and, like Bellamy, showed the movement and awareness which gave Chelsea's defence many problems.

He didn't get any clear chances to score himself today but never for one moment let the Chelsea defence have an easy ride, and he was involved in the build-up to the first goal.

A typically aggressive and impressive performance.

7/10—not his best day but still as good or better than most forwards can offer against Chelsea

Substitutes: Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Andy Carroll

Jordan Henderson came on for Craig Bellamy as Liverpool sought to arrest the growing control that Chelsea were having on the game in the second half, and it must be said he helped Liverpool work their way back into the game.

Indeed, he had probably his most pleasing performance in a Liverpool shirt in a long time.

He worked hard in the middle and made a couple of thrusting runs forward, notably down the right hand side when Liverpool worked a shooting chance for Dirk Kuyt.

7/10—encouraging, now he must build on the performance and continue to play similarly intelligently and aggressively

Stewart Downing came on for Maxi Rodriguez but did not have too much time to get into the game, nor opportunities on the ball to run at Chelsea.  

No rating

Andy Carroll made a late appearance in place of Luis Suarez.  

No rating