Liverpool vs Norwich Player Ratings

The Reds maintained their superior record against Norwich in an utterly dominant fashion after knocking five goals past the Canaries and controlling the match from start to finish.

Jordan Henderson opened the floodgates in the first half with a brilliant first-time volley before Luis Suarez doubled the tally ten minutes later with a cool finish after Daniel Sturridge dummied the ball through for him. Sturridge grabbed a goal for himself 15 minutes after the restart after Stewart Downing found him with a low cross from the right.

Captain Steven Gerrard added his name to the scoresheet in the 66th minute with a trademark drilled shot from outside the box that left goalkeeper Mark Bunn with no chance and substitute Raheem Sterling helped in setting up the final goal when his cross for Fabio Borini was tucked into the net by Ryan Bennett for an own goal.

Liverpool

Brad Jones - 6.5
He spent almost a decade at his former club Middlesbrough before his move to Anfield and he would not have a simpler game than this in his entire career having been hardly tested by Norwich throughout the game.

Glen Johnson - 7.5
Johnson spent more time in the opposition half attacking the Norwich defence as he had barely a thing to do in his own half. One of his driving runs forward paid off as he took three defenders with him, setting up Gerrard to score Liverpool's fourth goal.

Daniel Agger - 7
Agger would suddenly appear in the nick of time to clear any eminent danger, if there was any from the Norwich players. He would occasionally make the runs forward to prevent any build up from the Canaries, making their numbers in midfield count for nothing.

Jamie Carragher - 7
Who could expect the veteran to have such an easy game against the physical threat of Holt, not only did he survive the entire 90 minutes he took Holt out of the game completely.

Andre Wisdom - 8
Young Wisdom showed great maturity on the ball, not giving it away needlessly and intelligently carried out his defensive duties. He whipped in a few crosses into the danger zone and showed a couple of great touches for someone his age playing in a defensive role.

Steven Gerrard - 8
Nothing could go wrong for the Liverpool skipper in this game. His cross-field passes were spot on and even managed to get on the score sheet with his trademark strike from distance. His presence was everywhere, from helping out in defence to orchestrating their attacks.

Jordan Henderson (77' off) - 7
Henderson may just be taking his first step towards justifying his huge price tag with a scorcher of a goal. He looked dangerous at times with the late runs into the box in the absence of Suarez and Sturridge, but he will have a long way to go before he can fully prove to the critics that he is worth the price. Could this be the turning point of his Liverpool career?

Lucas (69' off) - 7.5
A midfield enforcer was sorely miseed in the Liverpool ranks and he showed his manager what he has to offer in place of Allen, snuffing out the danger from high up the pitch and even managed an assist for Suarez.

Stewart Downing - 6.5
More proficient with his right foot than his left after his early ball set up Sturridge for Liverpool's third goal. He kept the Norwich defence on their toes as everyone is weary of what he is capable of from distance, which opened up space for the rest of his team mates.

Daniel Sturridge (69' off) - 8
They took turns to have a go at Bunn's goal and gave Bennett and Turner all sorts of problems. His brilliant dummy allowed Suarez through on goal to double Liverpool's lead and later had a goal of his own, thanks to his predatory instincts in the box.

Luis Suarez - 8
He was all over the pitch and the link up play between him and Sturridge was awesome, which was evident after he was set up by the new boy.

Substitutions

Raheem Sterling (69' on) - 7
Five minutes was all it took for him to have an impact on the match by forcing the own goal. His quick feet were an agonizing sight for the Norwich defender's tired legs.

Fabio Borini (69' on) - 6
Struggled with injury after his arrival from Roma, but he has time on his side to win over the Liverpool faithful and work on his match fitness.

Joe Allen (77' on)
N/A

Norwich

Mark Bunn - 6
Helplessly watched five balls end up in the back of the net as the Reds' clinical finishing were too much for him to handle, especially when his defence in front of him was non existent.

Russell Martin - 6.5
The right back was tested again and again by Johnson from left back and could not venture further up the pitch, but stood up to the test and I am sure he impressed new Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, who was spotted in the stadium.

Michael Turner - 4
He allowed that dummy from Sturridge to roll into the path of Suarez to score and could not watch the sporadic runs of both Suarez and Sturridge, leaving pockets of space for the Liverpool midfielders to exploit.

Javier Garrido - 5
The on loan left-back from Lazio had an easy time with Downing, but struggled when Suarez started to drift to the left. He was caught off guard on a few occasions, like the Sturridge goal, which came from his side of the pitch.

Ryan Bennett - 4
His 7th minute header could have given Norwich the lead but it was straight into the hands of Jones. The cross from Sterling was too much for him to handle at full stretch and he unfortunately put the ball into the back of his own net.

Bradley Johnson - 5
Barely created anything from midfield and did not make the most of what little possession they had. 

Robert Snodgrass (86' off) - 5 
Looked lost at both ends of the field, probably unsure of what his role is with the current lineup and was extremely disappointing after seeing what his eye-catching performances in recent weeks. 

Jonathan Howson - 5
He could not match the dominant Liverpool midfield and perhaps Hoolahan would have been a better choice in this match. 

Elliott Bennett (65' off) - 4
After the opening two goals, Bennett seemed to slip into the damage control mentality judging from his body language and barely tested the young Wisdom.

Alexander Tettey - 6.5
He had a hand in destroying most of Liverpool's counter attack, but there was only so much a man can do against Stevie G and gang.

Grant Holt - 4
Totally missed his chance to get a goal shortly after the restart and should have been replaced early on if Norwich wanted anything from this game. He was otherwise anonymous.

Substitutions

Wesley Hoolahan (65' on) - 6
With their current form, both Hoolahan and Pilkington should have made the starting XI but their introduction on the pitch was too little too late.

Anthony Pilkington (86' on)
N/A