Newcastle 1-0 Liverpool Player Ratings: Disjointed Reds Face Halftime Rescue Job

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It's been a hotly-contested opener where both teams have had several bookings and neither have truly controlled proceedings.Here are our player ratings for the first half:GK: Alisson - 6.0The Brazilian was powerless to stop Anthony Elanga's goal and otherwise had a quiet first-half.RB : Jeremie Frimpong - 6.2Frimpong has contained Harvey Barnes quite well. The Englishman has not been able to do much on the ball, and he has made some good runs beyond Ngumoha.

Despite conceding an early goal Liverpool's number five has limited Osula to few very opportunities.LCB: Virgil van Dijk (C) - 6.4The skipper couldn't do much for the first goal, but was otherwise a commanding presence in the heart of Liverpool's defence.LB: Milos Kerkez - 5.1Kerkez wasn't able to keep up with Elanga for Newcastle's opener, got booked, shot wildly over the bar after a corner and was rash in his decision making. Otherwise has made some good turns and has been driving the Reds forward in the search for an equaliser.CM: Dominik Szoboszlai - 6.2Liverpool's number eight has had a quiet first 45.

He's not been able to get on the ball much and has struggled to get into the game. Has had some decent free-kick deliveries.RW: Rio Ngumoha - 5.8Starting in the relatively unfamiliar right-wing spot, he's not been able to cause Newcastle issues.