Best/Worst of Liverpool v QPR

I want to preface this by saying that I may or may not have slept through large chunks of the second half, so what I say in this post may reflect that. 7:30 games really suck.

Best Liverpool Player: Raheem Sterling

Sterling looked fresher than he had in weeks, and his performance reflected that, as he was once again Liverpool's biggest attacking threat. Although he didn't show up on the score sheet, Sterling played a big part in 2 goals. He drew the the foul that led to Liverpool's first, and it was his cross that was put into the QPR goal by Steven Caulker to give Liverpool the win. Hopefully Liverpool keep Sterling well rested more often, because he is extremely important to this team, and he just isn't effective when he's tired.

Worst Liverpool Player: Mario Balotelli

While I would love to say Glen Johnson was the worst, I can't say it honestly. The new look Mario Balotelli that had a good attitude and tracked back is disappearing more and more with each game he fails to score. He was very poor yesterday, he missed an absolute sitter, and his attitude and effort were the worst they've been since he arrived. He needs to start scoring soon or I fear he's going to get himself into some trouble.

Best Opponent: Eduardo Vargas

Vargas came on as a substitute in the 79th minute, and proceeded to score 2 equalizing goals for QPR. He was a big reason the last 7 minutes of the game were as exciting and nerve-wracking as they were.

Best Goal: Philippe Coutinho (90')

Many people, myself included, have been hard on Coutinho for his often awful shooting, but he sure seems to have a knack for scoring late, important goals. The shot was placed perfectly into the low far corner, and it was all the more impressive that he managed to fit it in through a crowd of QPR defenders. Coutinho looked better than he has in a while, and hopefully he'll build on this performance.

Worst Miss: Mario Balotelli (62')

This miss was awful. Lallana took a shot that was parried by the QPR keeper, and the ball fell right to Balotelli. He had the entire goal to shoot at, and he launched the ball over the net. It's inexcusable for a striker to not score there, and he's lucky Liverpool won anyway. Balotelli still hasn't scored in the league for Liverpool, and it's clearly affecting his play as he grows more and more frustrated.

Worst Luck: Leroy Fer

You almost have to feel bad for Leroy Fer. He hit the bar twice in a 6 minute span in the first half. The game could have been a whole hell of a lot different if he had put one of those shots in.

Best Managerial Decision: Subbing on Coutinho and Allen (66')

The game changed for the better when Rodgers subbed Coutinho and Allen on in the 2nd half. Coutinho put in a good showing, but perhaps the most important part of this move was that it pushed Gerrard back into the holding role. He had played a more advanced role than we've seen in a while for the majority of the game, but with  these substitutions he returned to his more defensive role, and Liverpool were better because of it.

Worst Managerial Decisions: Starting Glen Johnson

While it was done for the right reason, and he actually played better than I expected him to, I'm still calling this the worst decision pretty much just because I was pissed that I had to watch Glen Johnson at all. I understand Rodgers wanted to save Manquillo and Moreno for the Real Madrid match, but man do I despise Glen Johnson. Hopefully we won't have to see much more of him, but I have a feeling he'll play more than anyone really wants him to.

Don't forget to vote for you man of the match below.