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Liverpool is edging closer and closer to their first Premier League title in 30 years. The Reds have been in unstoppable form this season, having not lost a single game. As for West Ham, their hopes of a place in Europe at the beginning of the campaign have emphatically become a distant dream with the Hammers now facing the reality of relegation.
Coming as a shock to absolutely no one, Liverpool would take the lead in the ninth minute through a Georginio Wijnaldum header. However, the visitors would shock the league leaders by equalising three minutes later as Issa Diop beat Alisson at his near post. Ten minutes after the break, the visitors would shockingly take the lead as substitute Pablo Fornals would poke home from seven yards out.
The Champions elect would eventually equalise in the 69th minute through a Mohamed Salah strike. They would further their dominance over the Hammers by taking the lead in the 81st minute with a Sadio Mane tap-in. The game would end that way, sending Jurgen Klopp’s men 22 points clear.
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Here are the hits and flops from Liverpool’s 3-2 win over West Ham.
#5 Flop: Naby Keita
Before the Senegalese midfielder made his presence known in England, he was advertised as one of the most exciting talents in Europe. However, since coming to the Premier League, we have not seen an ounce of that proclaimed talent. In fact, Keita has found himself out of the team more than he’s been in it due to his subpar performances. Tonight, was another to add to his subpar collection.
Given a rare chance by Jurgen Klopp, Keita struggled to impose his will on a game West Ham side. The 25-year-old was non-existent in both build-up play and his defensive work off the ball. When Klopp’s side was behind and they needed a goal, Keita was hooked off in favour of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
During his 57 minutes on the pitch, the midfielder misplaced four passes and attempted no shots on goal. With Keita on the pitch, the Reds looked toothless, lacklustre and void of ideas in the middle and without him, they were energetic and ran West Ham ragged eventually.
Hit: #4 Jeremy Ngakia
Up against the electric Sadio Mane, youngster Jeremy Ngakia put in a performance that will garner him a lot of suitors. The 19-year-old not only stood up to last year’s golden boot winner, but he also gave him problems to think about going the other way. Preferred in the starting line-up over Pablo Zabaleta, Ngakia was making only his third appearance of the season.
In an era where there are so many promising young English full-backs like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Aaron Wan-Bisakka and Reece James, Ngakia could be the next in that long line. His tight marking of Mane often left space for Andrew Robertson to move into but luckily for West Ham, Robert Snodgrass was willing to trackback.
In a coming of age display, the 19-year-old won six tackles, one aerial, made three interceptions and four clearances. To do this away at the best team in Europe is no small feat and suggests the youngster has a massive future ahead of him.
#3 Flop: Felipe Anderson
Earlier in the week, David Moyes called upon Felipe Anderson to become the club’s next Marko Arnautovic. The Hammers are in need of a star man and Anderson is one of the club’s most expensive signings ever. Against the Reds, the Brazilian failed to make any kind of impact whatsoever. Of course, we can’t forget this was his first appearance since returning from a five-week rib injury, but Anderson looked completely rusty and behind the pace.
The 26-year-old was started to be a ball-carrying outlet on the counter-attack, instead many of West Ham’s attacks deteriorated because of him. In the first half alone, Anderson was dispossessed twice and owned a shocking 60% pass accuracy.
Although, he did show flashes of brilliance, Anderson was nowhere near his best when West Ham needed him. In his 65 minutes on the pitch, the 26-year-old completed 40% of his tackles and misplaced six passes. If West Ham are to stay up this season, Anderson will need to put in much better performances.
#2 Hit: Trent Alexander-Arnold
There aren’t many better full-backs attacking wise than Trent Alexander-Arnold. The 21-year-old has proven on many an occasion that his technique is second to none, especially from the dead ball scenarios. Up against a lacklustre Felipe Anderson, Trent didn’t have much to worry about in his half, allowing him to focus on going forward.
Tonight, the 21-year-old gave us an exhibition in modern full-back attacking play. Down the right flank, Alexander-Arnold constantly timed his runs to coincide with attacking overloads, thus leaving Aaron Creswell exposed.
In a performance of the highest order, the right-back attempted four shots on goal, created six chances, completed 39 passes and provided two assists for his teammates. West Ham simply couldn’t live with his runs and quality of delivery.
Although not the quickest or strongest, the 21-year-old’s intelligence keeps him one step ahead of all opposing defences. If it weren’t for Trent’s contributions in the final third, the Reds wouldn’t have been able to break down this resilient and well-organised West Ham side.
#1 Flop: Lukasz Fabianski
Coming to Anfield is never an easy task for any team, but much focus is often placed on keepers. In these moments they either have the game of their lives or pick the ball out of the net severally. Fabianski chose the latter. For the opening goal of the game, Fabianski allowed a tame header to beat him. The Polish keeper even got a hand to the ball and decided to parry it into the net.
For a keeper of his standard, he shouldn’t be conceding such, so much so that this wasn’t just considered as a bad goal to concede but will go down as a mistake from the 34-year-old. If that weren’t enough, the West Ham keeper decided to add another howler to his day as he allowed Mohamed Salah’s 67th-minute strike to slip through his legs.
On another day, both of Liverpool’s goals would have been stopped by a competent keeper. Since leaving Arsenal, Fabianski has been one of the most consistent keepers in the league, tonight he proved the Gunners were right to not deem him good enough. Just to top things off, Fabianski showcased his rashness for Liverpool’s game-winning third.
