Liverpool player ratings vs Sheffield Utd: Virgil van Dijk shows misfiring Reds forwards how its done in narrow victory

It should have been a much more comfortable night for the dominant Reds up against the Premier League's bottom team

Despite the presence of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, it was defender Virgil van Dijk who stepped up with the best piece of finishing to help Liverpool to a 2-0 win at Sheffield United on Wednesday. The centre-back had all the space he needed to smash into the net after a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner set him up perfectly to break the deadlock late in the first half.

It is the second time in in three days the Reds have had to be saved by a defender, having been rescued by Alexander-Arnold late on in their 4-3 win against Fulham at Anfield.

Just like on Sunday, Liverpool's front three underwhelmed in front of goal. Salah looked like he was in the mood to bag his 200th goal for the club as he hit four shots in total, but yet again his finishing let him down. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo and Diaz failed to act as a direct threat on goal of any kind, while substitute Nunez had one decent chance after coming on for the last 20 or so minutes.

The game looked set to fade out to a 1-0 win, but Dominik Szoboszlai was there to kill the game off after he was found in the Sheffield United box, applying a simple finish after a nice first touch to control it.

Considering their dominance in possession and their eight shots on target, the Reds should have made easier work of the Premier League's bottom team, but somehow found themselves under pressure one too many times against weaker opposition.

GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Bramall Lane...