WEST HAM 3-2 LIVERPOOL: MATCH REVIEW

Liverpool succumbed to their first loss of the season as West Ham United edged them 3-2 in a thrilling encounter in London. An Alisson own goal was cancelled out by Trent’s brilliant free kick, before Pablo Fornals restored the Hammers lead. Zouma then made it 3-1 from a corner before Origi climbed off the bench to pull one back. We review the game and assess what went wrong.

For player ratings from the match, head over to:

https://made4liverpool.com/2021/11/07/player-ratings-west-ham-3-2-liverpool/

° Alisson struggles. West Ham are a big side, with over half their outfielders standing over 6ft tall. They are brilliant at attacking set pieces and Alisson couldn’t command his box as he was driven to distraction by Antonio standing on him on the goal line. He was fouled for the first goal but was nowhere for the third goal. He was similarly helpless when Rice and Dawson headed against the crossbar. A tough night was underlined by the weak hand he got on the second goal.

° Ref watch. Craig Pawson’s performance last night was not good enough. The two big decisions were a farce. Ogbonna caught Alisson’s hands with his arm. On which planet that is deemed a fair challenge on a goalkeeper I don’t know. Only way Alisson was knocking that ball in was if he’s fouled? VAR hid behind the”fair and obvious error” excuse too and the goal was allowed to stand. Creswell then went over the ball into Henderson’s knee and we didn’t even win a free kick. Laughable.

° Not streetwise. Jarrod Bowen running past three Liverpool players to set up Fornals goal is a sight I can’t seem to get out of my head. Ox, Fabinho and Robertson all had the chance to foul him in midfield but allowed him breeze past. That’s a yellow Milner takes all day everyday, twice on Sundays. That was poor from all three. Fabinho just lazily dangled a leg in there, whilst Ox just trotted behind, expecting someone else to deal with it.

° Trent’s display. The 23 year old created the most chances (4) in the game, and scored a screamer of a free kick to pull his side level. He also picked up the assist for Origi’s goal and was generally menacing going forward. He was one of the few bright spots, as his will to win shone through. Should have gotten another assist when Mané headed wide. He was caught flat footed for Zouma’s header though, possibly waiting on Alisson to come claim the cross.

° Robertson worry. Another poor showing from the Scottish captain. His deliveries were not up to scratch, which was frustrating because he found loads of space down that left flank. 8 crosses he attempted, with only one finding a teammate. That’s just not good enough. You wonder how long Tsimikas will remain second choice if Robertson doesn’t return to his usual levels soon.

° Too open. The Reds have been far too open this season. They gift at least one big chance a game it seems. Even in that 5-0 win at Old Trafford, Fernandes missed a big chance after 3 minutes. The balance of the side in transition is all over the place, as sides counter us too easily. The opposition don’t have to work any complex moves to cut us open, usually one long ball into the acres of space we’ve left behind and they’re through 3 on 2 on the counter.

° Origi cameo. The Belgian came off the bench at 3-1 on 75 minutes and made an impact. He took his goal superbly, flicking the ball with his right, before swivelling and arrowing it into the bottom corner with his left. He actually managed more shots on target (2) than Salah, Jota and Mané combined (1). Could he have been brought on earlier? Hindsight is 20/20.

° Another false dawn for Ox. Another game passed him by after the big build we gave him pre-game. He played some lovely disguised passes through the lines, one leading to Salah winning the free kick Trent scored from. There wasn’t enough substance to his performance though. At 28, he’s supposed to be in his prime, but what we’re getting is inconsistency usually attributed to youngsters. Time is running out on his Liverpool career.

° First L of the season. The run was always going to end. Now it’s about how we react. We’re not a million miles away from where we want to be in the table, and we’ve seen we have things to work on as a team. This international break is a reset. It doesn’t bode well that we’ve failed to win 5 out of 11 games. This race is intense even just watching it. We could all use a break. We’ll pick it back up in two weeks.