West Ham United 2-0 Liverpool - 5 Talking Points

West Ham were worthy 2-0 winners over Liverpool, completing a Premier League doubleWest Ham United comfortably beat Liverpool 2-0 at Upton Park. Michail Antonio opened the scoring in the 10th minute and former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll scored just after ten minutes in the second half. Liverpool struggled to dominate the game, and lacked the determination and hunger to overcome the Hammers.With this win, West Ham did their first double over Liverpool since the 1963/64 season!Here are the five talking points from the game at Upton Park.

#1 Coutinho and Firmino fail to make an impact again

Coutinho and Firmino struggled to impose themselves on West Ham

Brazilian stars Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino struggled throughout the game, and failed to create enough chances for their teams. Coutinho has now gone six games without scoring or assiting, and needs to do much better if he wants to retain his place in the starting XI. He lost possession too often by taking shots from outside the box, when he could have tried to create something more realistic for his team. Coutinho has been a key player for Liverpool since the departure of Luis Suarez, but looks in really bad touch right now.

Roberto Firmino is in desperate need of goals since his big money move to Liverpool, despite some glimpses of good form. Firmino seems to struggle with the pace and physicality of the Premier League. Like Coutinho, he was dispossessed a few times and failed to make any sort of real impact.

#2 Christian Benteke poor once again

Benteke missed plenty of presentable chances

A lot has been said about Christian Benteke’s work rate and off the ball movement, and he does very little to prove his critics wrong. He might have scored in his last two games before today, but he has failed to impress with his performance. Benteke looked clueless in front of the goal, and lacks positional awareness. The 25-year-old has six league goals to his name since his big money move from Aston Villa, but surely a lot more is expected from him.

Benteke was dispossesed several times, and never got going throughout the game. He failed to create any real trouble for Collins and Ogbonna, and should have done better to be on the scoresheet today. It’s looks likely that he’ll be dropped soon, as Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi are expected to return back from injury soon, and both of them seem to suit Liverpool’s style of play.

#3 Reds fail to dominate the midfield

Lucas failed to contain West Ham's physically imposing midfield

Lucas Leiva was the captain of the side that faced West Ham today, and he did very little in the game to prove his manager’s decision right. Lucas is immobile, and gets involved in unnecessary tackles. He failed to shield his defence, and West Ham attackers found it very easy to get past him. The Brazilian simply doesn’t look good enough for a side targetting a top 4 finish, and Klopp should look for better midfield players in the upcoming transfer window.

Emre Can had a couple of good moments in the game, and also hit the woodwork just before the break, but hardly had any productive influence in the game. He struggled against the likes of Noble and Kouyate, and wasn’t supported well by Lucas either. Klopp will be hoping that Henderson is not out for too long as Liverpool don’t have enough quality players in the midfield.

#4 Reds get bullied by West Ham

Liverpool struggled to match West Ham physically

From the start of the first half, West Ham United were on top and looked like the side with more determination and hunger. West Ham United players won most of their 50-50 tackles, and played the kind of football Klopp wanted his team to play. They looked dynamic and played to their strengths, and were unlucky not to score a couple of more goals. The likes of Antonio and Noble made their presence felt throughout the game, and Liverpool players looked clueless.

On the other hand, Jurgen Klopp’s team looked tired, and didn’t show any determination and hunger. It was evident by the way Liverpool conceded the first goal after Alberto Moreno was brought down, as he took ages to get up and win the ball back. It’s fair to say, Liverpool have too many technicians in their team, but very few players who can deal with the physicality of the Premier League.

#5 Squad depth hurting Liverpool

Brad Smith looked out of his depth for Liverpool

Liverpool seem to be struggling to produce the kind of football their manager Jurgen Klopp wants, and the lack of squad depth isn’t helping them either. The Reds have the likes of Martin Skrtel, Daniel Sturridge, Jordan Henderson, Martin Skrtel and Jon Flanagan injured, and Klopp is forced to have few academy kids on the bench. Adam Lallana was the only real option on the bench today against West Ham United which also included the likes of Smith, Toure, Brannagan, Randall, and Allen.

Jurgen Klopp likes his team to play high pressing football, and with such limited options on the bench he is finding it difficult to rotate players in such a busy schedule. He’ll be hoping for a couple of additions in January to strengthen his team, and compete for the top 4.