Mané goal sees off West Ham to keep up Reds' title tilt

A nerve-wracking 1-0 win against West Ham keeps the pressure on league leaders Manchester City cutting their lead at the top to three points, with Pep Guardiola’s side set for a difficult fixture tomorrow against local rivals Manchester United.

Having made eight changes to the side that beat Norwich 2-1 in the FA cup fifth round midweek – only Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konaté and Jordan Henderson keeping their starting places – Liverpool started as if they were going to steamroller the Hammers, with Mo Salah having three good chances to open the scoring in the first 11 minutes.

The Egyptian king’s failure to convert reflected a frustrating evening for him as he found himself swarmed by defenders, obstructing his path to goal and when he did get to see the whites of Lukazs Fabianski’s eyes, superb blocking tackles and challenges thwarted the Reds’ number one striker.

Meanwhile, at the other end, the industrious, hulking Michail Antonio caused no end of problems to the Liverpool backline with his strength, persistence and unpredictable play. Alisson had to make several saves from the West Ham centre-forward to keep his side level.

Liverpool’s two best players were – again – their full backs, Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold, the Reds' right-sided star claiming the assist for the winner on 27 minutes – the 66's mishit shot falling into the path of Sadio Mané who, barely onside, poked the ball home from four yards out.

The first half may have finished 1-0 to Liverpool but it could have seen the Reds three up or, paradoxically, West Ham going in for an orange and cup of tea with a comfortable lead.

This back and forth continued into the second half, but this time with West Ham creating more and better chances.

Not even the departure to a bad-looking injury of Liverpool target Jarrod Bowen on 53 minutes – to go with the absence through illness from the start of the Hammers’ most influential player, England midfielder Declan Rice – dented the threat to Liverpool.

Alisson continued to be called into action and in addition to the Brazilian’s heroics Liverpool relied on clearances off the line and last ditch challenges to keep their lead in tact.

As the contest wore on and Liverpool’s lead looked more and more precarious, the match was crying out for substitutions from Jurgen Klopp, to tighten up or finish off the game.

It was a surprise, therefore, that when a sub was brought on not that the replacement was Diogo Jota but that the man hauled off was Salah, who looked suitably disgusted when his number came up.

Indeed, if Salah is currently the best player in the world – i.e. is in the class of Messi and Ronaldo when they were at Barcelona and Real Madrid – then it’s hard to see why you’d want to take off such a talent.

The puzzlement at Klopp’s decision deepens when it’s borne in mind that Salah was having just as good – or bad – a game as Mané and that Luis Diaz’s second half performance was not as effective as his first.

Moreover Salah has a habit late in matches of punishing tiring defenders or teams that have over-committed looking to rescue the game.

Still, Liverpool held on, an awful miss in front of an open Reds goal from Manuel Lanzini notwithstanding, and move on to the second leg of their Champions League tie against an out-of-form Inter Milan.

Klopp’s men go into the game at Anfield 2-0 up and it will be interesting to see what changes, if any, the Reds boss will make to his usual starting lineup, bearing in mind that the next Premier League game will be a tricky trip to the south coast to play a Brighton side needing to recover from a dip in form.

Liverpool fall to West Ham and ridiculous refereeing

 

Normally, at any level of football, at a corner, when an attacking player obstructs and elbows the goalkeeper in the head, the officials – whether on the pitch, or now with VAR – will call a foul; but for some reason, in today’s game against West Ham, after four minutes, Angelo Ogbana’s assault on Alisson Becker was deemed a fair challenge and the ensuing goal declared legal.

It was an awful start for Liverpool and for the referee, Craig Pawson, and VAR Stuart Attwell, who went on to compound their errors soon after by not penalising a lurid tackle by Aaron Cresswell on Jordan Henderson, in which the West Ham defender took out the Reds’ captain with a knee-high studs-up challenge, which wasn’t given as a foul, a yellow card, let alone a red, which is what Cresswell deserved.

Liverpool struggled to find their way back into the game after these glaring injustices and mistakes from the officials – with Pawson continuing to perform shockingly throughout the game, sometimes giving fouls for soft challenges, at other times not giving them for much harder tackles.

It took a clever free kick – given dubiously for a foul on Mo Salah – from Trent Alexander-Arnold on 41 minutes for Liverpool to equalise, West Ham dropping deeper and deeper; though as potent as the Reds’ full-back was going forward, his display as a defender left a lot to be desired. Crosses that he should’ve prevented were allowed to be made, misplaced headers and clearances abounded and, worst of all, for West Ham’s third goal, he was caught ball watching as Kurt Zouma made his way to the back post to nod in from a corner.

There will be those who will say that Alisson was at fault for West Ham’s first goal, that he wasn’t strong enough in seeing off Ogbona, but this wouldn’t be right. What would be right would be to question the Liverpool keeper’s effort in trying to prevent West Ham’s second. As Pablo Fornals bore down on the Reds’ goal, after being put through by Jared Bowen, Alisson seemed to lose his bearings, coming out too far, then veering off to the left and, finally, not getting strong enough hands to Fornals’ weak shot, allowing it to creep into the goal.

At this point, Jurgen Klopp decided to bring on Thiago Alcantara for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who, after an indifferent first half, seemed to be coming in to his own in the second 45, with the Spanish veteran, after a month-long calf injury layoff, proceeding to give the ball away and misplace passes.

Klopp will also have to be questioned as to why he is persisting with Andy Robertson at left back. His delivery today, as throughout the season, was poor and, apart from one good volleyed cross into the area that Sadio Mané should have done better with, his attacking contribution was disappointing.

Greek international Kostas Tsimikas, who has looked dynamic and dangerous whenever he has played for Liverpool this season, will surely be knocking on the manager’s door demanding to know why he isn’t being started more often.

Indeed, the statistics reveal that whenever Tsimikas has begun a game for Liverpool this season, the Reds have not conceded a goal. With Robertson – although of course Liverpool’s poor defending cannot be attributed all to him – the Reds have conceded three to Brentford, three to West Ham and two to Brighton.

As for Liverpool going forward, Mo Salah, after his electrifying start to the season, continued his goal drought, now not having scored in the last four games, while Diogo Jota, in for the injured Roberto Firmino, could have done better with a couple of headed chances that came his way.

Of Liverpool’s attacking players, however, Mané will be the most disappointed. He found himself in several good situations, not least when, in the 91st minutes – Divock Origi’s good turn and shot having made the game 2-3 on 83 minutes – a free kick from Alexander-Arnold found the Senegalese all on his own six yards out, only for Mané to guide his header well wide when it looked much easier to score.

A disappointing couple of weeks for Liverpool in the Premier League – they’ve dropped five of the last six points on offer – has seen the Reds slip to fourth in the table, falling beneath Manchester City, who crushed Manchester United in the derby, and unable to take advantage of Chelsea’s slip-up against Burnley, the Clarets coming away from Stamford Bridge with a 1-1 draw. Furthermore, by losing today, Liverpool, who had previously gone 25 games unbeaten in all competitions, missed the chance to set a club record of 26 consecutive matches undefeated.

The international break takes precedence now and when the Premier League returns in two weeks, Liverpool face a rejuvenated Arsenal, a team Liverpool usually put to the sword at Anfield, but they will have to play much better today if this good run against the Gunners is going to continue.

Salah turns on the style to see off West Ham

 

It could have been a different story had West Ham’s centre-forward Michail Antonio taken an excellent chance on 55 minutes inside the box to put his side ahead with the score still at 0-0, but his shot curled just past the post and Liverpool went on to score three superb goals to certify their dominance and allow us to assert that this was one of the Reds better performances of the season.

Starting with Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri for the benched Roberto Firmino and the injured Sadio Mané, Liverpool were in charge in the first half but rarely threatened. At the other end, Nat Phillips came in for the crocked Joel Matip and coped admirably with the threat of Antonio, a perfect opponent for Liverpool’s reserve centre-half who prefers going up a big target man he can battle rather than a nippier striker, who can beat him with pace or cunning. 

Just after Antonio’s miss, the game took another twist when Curtis Jones just on for the solid James Milner, carried the ball from the half-way line towards the West Ham area, exchanged passes with Gini Wijnaldum, then caressed the ball to Mo Salah, who cut in against Aaron Cresswell and curled the ball past Lukas Fabianski into the top corner of the goal.

Pressing for an equaliser, West Ham gained a corner on the 68th minute. Cleared with his head by Andy Robertson at the near post, the ball came out to Trent Alexander Arnold on the right who made a 60-yard crossfield pass to Shaqiri, who from the half way line, and first-time, looped the ball into the area for the onrushing Salah, who brought the ball down with his weaker right foot and flicked it passed the West Ham keeper into the back of the net to complete a perfect and spectacular counter-attacking goal.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Shaqiri and Robert Firmino for Divock Origi and the two substitutes combined brilliantly in the 84th minute on the edge of the area for Firmino to square the ball to Wijnaldum who had a tap-in to put Liverpool 3-0 up.

Some sloppy defending from a corner on the 88th minute saw centre-half Craig Dawson side-foot a consolation goal for West Ham, but for the last six minutes of the game Liverpool held on to the ball and any suggestion of a late flurry from West Ham amounted to nothing. 

A home game against lowly Brighton – a team Liverpool only drew with earlier in the season – is next up for Liverpool, followed by the big one: leaders Manchester City at Anfield next Sunday. If Liverpool win both these games, then the title race is well and truly back on.

Jota on target again to defeat West Ham

Who needs five substitutes when two will do? Jürgen Klopp may be championing the return of the five substitutes’ rule but all Liverpool required was the potent introduction of Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri to complete another comeback victory, move three points clear at the top of the Premier League and equal a club record of 63 league games unbeaten at Anfield.

West Ham had good reason to rue the quality on the champions’ bench. David Moyes’s side defended tenaciously, attacked dangerously – whenever they were able to gain possession from Liverpool, that is – and delivered a performance that underlined the progress they are making this season. Yet they still ended up suffering the same fate as 28 of the previous 29 Premier League visitors to Anfield. Defeat.

Read more here.

Reds come back to fend off Hammers

Reds cruise past West Ham and stretch lead to 19 points

The day is nearing when, if he were so minded, Jürgen Klopp could copy his strategy for FA Cup replays and hand the rest of Liverpool’s league season to their second string. Games in hand are only an advantage if you win them and this one was ultimately negotiated in comfort, confirming a 19-point lead that only the most wild-eyed fantasist would deem surmountable.

Mohamed Salah scored a first-half penalty and then beautifully set up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; West Ham at least avoided the four-goal defeat that would have sent them into the bottom three but these clubs could hardly exist in more contrasting states of health.

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Reds falter against West Ham

The door is starting to creak open for Manchester City. Liverpool, with the weight of history threatening to pin them down, found their title charge losing further momentum on an evening of suffocating tension. Even the gift of an offside goal was not enough to extinguish the nerves choking the Premier League’s pacesetters, heightening the impression that Jurgen Klopp’s red machine is finally showing signs of wear and tear.

This was the second successive game Liverpool were gripped by stage fright, with their anxiety captured by the moment when Divock Origi fluffed a glorious opportunity to steal the points with the final kick of a fraught contest. Time stood still when Naby Keïta’s lofted pass fooled West Ham’s stubborn back four and the stage seemed set for Origi, on as a late substitute, to repeat the stoppage-time heroics that won the Merseyside derby two months ago.

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Keita worth the wait

Almost 12 months have passed since Naby Keita agreed a move to Liverpool, a time during which hype and anticipation among supporters grew to almost unprecedented levels.

So when the Guinea international finally stepped out at Anfield for his competitive debut, expectation weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Has Keita been worth the wait?

On this initial evidence, the answer is most certainly in the affirmative.
Having caused a stir with some early performances in pre-season, a neck injury had the welcome effect of shifting the spotlight away from the former RB Leipzig man. Here, though, he was centre stage. And how. This was the reason Jurgen Klopp was willing to sanction a £52.75million deal and then wait a year.
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Five things we learned from rout of Hammers

Liverpool’s deadly front three picked up where they left off last season to comfortably beat Manuel Pellegrini’s poor West Ham.

Mohamed Salah opened his goal scoring account for the season by rounding off a nice move by Liverpool which was made possible by the Hammers’ pedestrian defending.

Sadio Mane struck twice, the latter after half time and from an offside position, not that it would have changed the match. Daniel Strurridge joined the party and scored with his first touch after coming off the bench to make it four.

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Klopp tries to manage expectations

Jürgen Klopp has said Liverpool face an “unbelievably hard” Premier League season despite opening the campaign with a 4-0 rout of West Ham, their biggest opening-day win at Anfield since 1932.

The Liverpool manager savoured “a very good start” as Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, twice, and the substitute Daniel Sturridge scored in the comfortable defeat of Manuel Pellegrini’s new-look side. It was Liverpool’s biggest opening-day win since the 6-1 defeat of Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in 1994.

“We know the expectations; we have expectations as well,” said Klopp. “We realised it was a very positive atmosphere around us in pre-season. It’s good that the people can be positive but they know that this season will be unbelievably hard. That’s the only thing I want to say."

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Van Dijk and Alisson make the difference

Virgil van Dijk has said Liverpool’s £65m goalkeeper Alisson has made an immediate impact with his distribution and vocal authority.

The Brazil No 1 enjoyed a comfortable Premier League debut on Sunday when rarely tested in the 4-0 defeat of West Ham. The speed and range of his passing was evident, however, and Van Dijk believes that will only improve Liverpool’s attacking threat this season, while he and his fellow defenders have already benefited from Alisson’s more commanding presence.

The centre-back said: “He is very good. We speak a lot. He’s very vocal and that helps. It helps me and everyone in the back-line. His presence is very good as well. He has a lot of qualities on the ball and that helps us playing. We’ve worked on it the whole pre-season and we’ll keep practising. There’s still a lot to do.”

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Salah, Mane and Sturridge score as Liverpool thrash Hammers

Liverpool started the season in style as they condemned West Ham to a 4-0 defeat in Manuel Pellegrini's first game in charge.

Mohamed Salah (19) and Sadio Mane (45+2) scored open goals after ruthless attacking moves during a rampant first half at Anfield and the home side added a third eight minutes after half-time when Mane stroked home, controversially from an offside position.

Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to score with his first touch of the game (88) to complete a miserable afternoon for Pellegrini, who started five new signings but had goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski to thank for ensuring the scoreline was not even more comprehensive.

Read more here.