Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs Galatasaray as Mohamed Salah was among several of Arne Slot's players to stand out, and not in the way he would have wanted
19:39, 10 Mar 2026Updated 19:44, 10 Mar 2026
Mohamed Salah struggled as Liverpool played Galatasaray.
Mohamed Salah struggled as Liverpool played Galatasaray.(Image: Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
RAMS PARK, ISTANBUL // Liverpool has work to do in the Champions League after falling behind to Galatasaray in another disappointing performance from Arne Slot's side, this time in Europe.
Mario Lemino scored with the first shot Galatasaray had after a shaky start for the hosts should have been exploited by Liverpool. And the end-to-end nature of the clash continued, with neither defense looking anything like convincing.
Hugo Ekitike missed a big chance and Ibrahima Konate was all over the place at the back at times, but Liverpool is still in the tie. It will need to play much better than this in the return leg.
READ MORE: Arne Slot admits 'experienced' players were caught out by surprising Galatasaray fan actionREAD MORE: Nnamdi Collins response to 'surprising' Liverpool transfer links speaks volumes
Winners
Galatasaray went into the tie knowing that to have a proper chance of progressing, it would need to take a lead to Anfield. Even with a big advantage, it only just got through against 10-man Juventus in the last round and gave up plenty of chances there, so nothing is done, but it got what it wanted. Liverpool is playing catch-up.
Losers
Defensively, Liverpool was all over the place here. Konate and Milos Kerkez played most of the first half looking like they were on ice skates, with Giorgi Mamardashvili making a couple of important saves. As a team, the Reds were far too open and not clinical enough in the final third, with Florian Wirtz guilty of messing up a couple of big chances.
Player ratings
Giorgi Mamardashvili (7). Making his first appearance since January 12, the Georgian made a couple of very good saves. He looked pretty sharp and he needed to be.
Joe Gomez (6). Starting a second successive game, this time at right-back, he was there to offer more stability than Jeremie Frimpong might have. That wasn't really true, though, with Liverpool's defense very open at times.
Ibrahima Konate (5). He got a rest in the FA Cup tie against Wolves but started slowly and was sped past a couple of times by Noa Lang on the Galatasaray left flank. Almost gifted a goal to Victor Osimhen with an air kick and was fortunate to see the offside flag raised in the second when he was all over the place.
Virgil van Dijk (6). Given more of a game by Osimhen than pretty much anyone else has managed this season. There was only so much he could do with plenty of chaos around him.
Milos Kerkez (5). Back in the starting XI ahead of Andy Robertson, as expected, the 22-year-old was put under pressure a few times by a few Galatasaray players, where he lost the ball. Harshly booked.
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Ryan Gravenberch (6). Having signed a new six-year contract this week, this was a mixed showing. There were good bits (like where he spun away from his man with that trademark turn) but also bad bits (where he lost the ball too easily).
Alexis Mac Allister (5). Fouled a few Galatasaray players and struggled to match the pace of the game at times. It's been a familiar issue this season. Some of his passing was decent but just not enough across the course of the match to really get a grip of it.
Mohamed Salah (5). Once again, the lack of pace to get away from his marker proved an issue. He made bad decisions and was crowded out too easily. Hooked before the hour mark.
Dominik Szoboszlai* (5). *There were a couple of counter-attacking opportunities that he missed by failing to make the right pass. Not as effective in the last few weeks compared to the previous few months of the season.
Florian Wirtz* (6). *Coming off the left flank, the German should have scored after two minutes when Galatasaray gifted him a shot at goal. Looked lively but needed to be much more clinical.
Hugo Ekitike (5). Looking refreshed after a much-needed break against Wolves on Friday, and held the ball up well up top to begin with before fading significantly. Couldn't find much space to get shots away cleanly, however, and missed a massive chance with a one-versus-one.
Substitutes
Andy Robertson (6). Some thought that he might start to offer some additional experience in the team, but had to settle with playing around half an hour. Struggled to get up to speed.
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Jeremie Frimpong (6). Injected some speed in the final third but not much in the way of quality. His dribbling was almost too fast for his mind to make a decision at times.
Cody Gakpo (6). Came on and fired a couple of shots away straight away. After that, though, his impact tailed off.