Liverpool 2-2 West Brom : Five Talking Points

The reds needed a late goal from Origi as they narrowly survived another setback on SundayLiverpool sent tremors down the West Brom nerves with a late rally, but eventually had to settle for a point as both sides ended up sharing the spoils in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Anfield.Reds skipper Jordan Henderson put the hosts ahead with a simple tap-in midway through the first half, while Craig Dawson levelled the proceedings just 9 minutes later, after a mix-up in the box following a corner. Jonas Olsson then put the Baggies ahead with a glancing header in the 73rd minute, before substitute Divock Origi snatched a point off the visitors with a shot that took a deflection before crashing into the bottom corner.Liverpool enjoyed the lion’s share of possession for large spells of the game, but struggled to break down a rigid West Brom backline.Here are the major talking points from the game:

#1 Chinks in the Liverpool defence

Liverpool’s problems at the back are quite evident despite the arrival of Klopp

Fragility at the back has long been a subject of concern for Liverpool. Just 2 clean sheets in their last 8 competitive games is enough to highlight their vulnerabilities at the back, and it appeared as if West Brom relished the prospect of taking advantage of it, putting the Reds to the sword with their high pressing.

The visitors looked to score every time they got a set-piece, which was evidenced through both their goals, which came from corners. Shot stopper Simon Mignolet was at fault for both the strikes as he first mishandled the ball to allow Dawson to hook it through for the equaliser in the follow-up, and wasn’t vigilant enough during the second.

Centre-back Martin Skrtel was in no man’s land for much of the game, and even allowed Olsson to move off him and comfortably head home the second for the visitors, thereby accentuating his lethargy.

Liverpool have shown sparks of brilliance under Jurgen Klopp, but haven’t quite been able to build on it. And that’s largely down to their porous defence which has to be beefed up if they were to launch a sustained assault on the trophies.

#2 Origi growing from strength to strength

Divock Origi settled the tie with a late, late strike that went in of a deflection

Liverpool’s young dynamite Divock Origi started the game on the bench, but eventually proved to be difference as his shot deflected off into the back of the net to save his side’s blushes. The twinkle-toed Belgian dazzled in the 6-1 thumping of Southampton in the league cup last week with a hat-trick and now stepped up to the plate again when Liverpool were in doldrums.

From the time he was introduced in the game, Origi brought a sense of verve into the attack late on in the game that shook the otherwise astute West Brom defence. After good moves and slick passes in dangerous areas, the 20-year old took matters into his own hands and drove forward to pull the trigger from 25 yards out that took a huge deflection and landed safely into the net, beyond Boaz Myhill.

The goal sparked a jubilant atmosphere among the Kop and stung Liverpool with vim and vigour as they pushed hard for the winner. Although that goal never came, Origi left his stamp on a match yet again and provided Klopp with a glimmer of hope amidst their attacking crisis that sees Daniel Sturridge out injured and Christian Benteke out of form.

#3 Fresh injury concerns gnaw Liverpool

Lovren was taken off the field after suffering what looked like a serious knee injury

While it was all smiles for Liverpool at the end, a major blot was the horrific injury suffered by Dejan Lovren that is well set to keep him out of action for a considerable amount of time. Buoyed by the return of Jordan Henderson, Philippe Coutinho to the line-up, the Reds were left to contend with fresh casualty when centre back Lovren had to be stretchered off the field with his legs in a brace.

West Brom’s growing influence in the game had thrown the home side in a tizzy and were rocked with another blow when Lovren injured his right leg after being at the receiving end of a nasty challenge from Craig Gardner.

The injury comes as a serious concern at the back for Liverpool that was already ropey, and Skrtel’s subdued showing did no good to their cause either. With fixtures coming thick and fast in the weeks ahead, manager Klopp may need to rope in a good centre-back in the January transfer window to avoid any further blunders at the back, as they already sit 9th in the standings and have some catching up to do.

#4 Liverpool need to show more character

Liverpool need to impose themselves and close out games if they want to be realistic title contenders

While Liverpool’s late rally culminated into a Divock Origi goal that pilfered a point for them, the moment arrived deep into the injury-time and the Reds left it really late in the game. Following Jordan Henderson’s goal that put the home team in the lead, the riposte Liverpool made just wasn’t enough.

The goal should have in fact, put their antennae up and spurred them on, but the Reds took some time before they really crawled their way back into the game. Although they snatched a late equaliser, this is one match a title-challenging team should be winning without many hiccups.

When Liverpool fell behind to Southampton in the League Cup match last week, they responded in blistering fashion, pumping in six goals to turn the match on its head. The Merseysiders sadly lacked that kind of character tonight and need to be just as reactive when falling behind if they are to come out of tight spots unscathed, especially against big teams in the Premier League and in the Europa League.

#5 West Brom are the real deal on the road

The Baggies are on an impressive run away from home.

It has been their highlight of the season so far and despite the draw, remains one of the eye-catching features of West Brom. The West Midlands outfit have been terrific away from home this season, losing only twice in 8 outings, and keeping a clean sheet in 4 of them. That impressive away form was on display at Anfield too, as Tony Pulis’ side pushed Liverpool to the edge and nearly grabbed a win.

After falling behind to Jordan Henderson’s opener, West Brom did not let the early goal sink them, but they on the contrary got one back and could have been in the lead, if not for the linesman, although correct, offside call which put a premature stop to Jonas Olsson’s celebration right before half time. Although they failed to take advantage of Liverpool’s defensive muddle from the open play for all their high pressing, they made the most of it from set-pieces as both the strikes they acrrued stemmed from corners.

Hadn’t it been for the deflection through which the home side got their equaliser, West Brom would have walked away with all three points. But that failure still doesn’t take away the shine off the visitor’s performance as they once again proved they are the real deal when travelling.