Liverpool put up a decent fight against Arsenal on Sunday, but ultimately fell to a sloppy Kai Havertz goal.

The Reds were dominant in large slices of the game, but simply did not do enough to get anything from the champions.

Having now been beaten by both Man City and Arsenal at Anfield, questions should be asked of Andoni Iraola’s side, who will not be challenging for the title this season. Here’s how we rated the players as Liverpool lost 1-0.

Defence

Alisson Becker: 4 – Absolutely no excuse for his sloppy pass which allowed Arsenal to get on the attack and eventually score. Made up for it with a sensational stop to get down quickly and deny Christos Tzolis what looked like a certain goal.

Ronald Araujo: 6 – Another strong performance from Araujo who was good at the back while also providing a couple of good moments going forward.

Jeremy Jacquet: 7 – Arguably at fault for the goal, but it was more on Alisson for selling him short. Nevertheless, Jacquet will have been disappointed to be caught slightly on his heels. Was fantastic again besides, showing his composure in the tackle and on the ball.

Virgil van Dijk: 5 – Some will point fingers at Van Dijk for failing to cut out Declan Rice’s ball across goal for the winner, and though that may be harsh, the captain did not feel his usual secure self.

Milos Kerkez: 3 – Liverpool fans were audibly frustrated with Kerkez and with very good reason. Wasted so many good positions on the left hand side and was a little too keen in the tackle at times as well. Did put a great ball in for Alexis Mac Allister, which the Argentine should have scored from, but otherwise the Hungarian was far below par.

Midfield

Trey Nyoni: 5 – Nyoni upset Mikel Arteta with some of his early tackles, and the 19-year-old’s frantic mood was not always to Liverpool’s benefit. He certainly did not disgrace himself on his first Premier League start, but this wasn’t Nyoni’s best day at the office.

Alexis Mac Allister: 4 – Generally played well again in Liverpool’s midfield, but really had to score his headed chance. The miss cost the Reds momentum and that was ultimately the game right there.

Florian Wirtz: 4 – Started well, giving Liverpool some impetus going forward, but as he often does, faded out of the game. The Reds needed more from him in one moment where he swivelled in the box and fired a tame shot goalward.

Attack

Cody Gakpo: 4 – Gakpo has been good on the right at times this season, but this was not a great display from the Dutchman. Looked like he has not fully recovered from his injury as he laboured through the game.

Alexander Isak: 4 – Looked lively early on but never really managed to free himself from the Arsenal centre-backs. When he did get half a yard of space he couldn’t use it well enough.

Bradley Barcola: 3 – Barcola is a top player, of that there is no question, but there are times when his lackadaisical approach really frustrates. He did not match the energy of his teammates at times, and never looked like a threat, running into traffic over and over again.

Substitutes

Dominik Szoboszlai: 3 – Looked leggy, making a couple of sloppy decisions when in possession. Worrying that Liverpool lost the control they had on the game when the No. 8 came on.

Rio Ngumoha: 4 – Tried hard but just couldn’t find an opening.

Kostas Tsimikas: 3 – Tried a few balls into the box, but couldn’t find anything meaningful with any of them.

Victor Munoz: 5 – Was arguably Liverpool’s biggest when he came on, at least giving the Arsenal defenders something to think about.

Lewis Koumas: N/A – A needless substitution who offered nothing.