Andy Hunter was at Anfield, and his report is in. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
David Moyes, still to taste victory at Anfield, talks to Sky. “It was a much better performance and good performances tend to lead to better results. We didn’t quite get the good result today. We’ve come here recently and come close a couple of times. We tried to make it as difficult as we can. I thought if we got a clean sheet we would win the game, and we probably should, because we had enough chances. We want to be attack minded. There were times we had to suffer without the ball, and they started very well. But we grew into it, had shots on goal, and in the second half late on, if any team was going to get a goal, it would be us. We just needed a little bit of class at the end, but we’ve been lacking that in recent weeks. I’m going to the next game, try to get the best team out, try to win it, and if we buckle somewhere along the road, we know it’s because we don’t have a strong enough squad. But we might as well keep having a go at it, see where it ends up.”
Jurgen Klopp speaks to Sky. “We may remember this game as one of the most important ones, because it was a tricky fixture in the first place. We did the first half really well. We know about all the different things West Ham are really good at, and we denied them in all of the situations. We played a good game and could have scored more but didn’t. And then the second half starts with a massive chance for Bowen, which was the first time we didn’t defend Antonio properly. That was a kick start for them, and around the second balls we were not as good as we were in the first half. But we brought it over the line and I am really pleased with that. If you are not well organised, you have to defend with passion. We lost some heading challenges. They had a big chance and we were lucky, but you cannot win the amount of games the boys have won without luck from time to time. I’m absolutely happy with the result. I know we can do much better, but it’s a special win against a really strong opponent. It’s not a coincidence that they are near the Champions League spots and still in the Europa League.”
A quick word with Andrew Robertson, who played his 200th match for Liverpool tonight. “West Ham played a really good game. We were good at times, sloppy at times. It was never going to be easy, but we’ve been good at keeping clean sheets recently.”
Jurgen Klopp looks more relieved than ecstatic. David Moyes by contrast is furious. No wonder: his side played extremely well, seriously disrupting Liverpool’s defence on several occasions, but couldn’t tuck any of their chances away. Fornals, Lanzini and Antonio all had one-on-one opportunities to beat Alisson, but the hosts kept them out every time. A sense that Liverpool have gotten away with a below-par performance tonight ... but sometimes you need to grind a few out if you’re to win a title. As for West Ham, when the frustration ebbs away, they’ll take pride from a fine performance. Keep playing like that and they’ll be in the Champions League mix during the business end of the season.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 27 | 47 | 66 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 27 | 51 | 63 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 26 | 35 | 53 |
| 4 | Man Utd | 27 | 10 | 47 |
| 5 | West Ham | 28 | 11 | 45 |
FULL TIME: Liverpool 1-0 West Ham United
The whistle goes, and it’s a hard-earned three points for Liverpool, who move to within three points of Manchester City. West Ham had their chances, though. They had their chances.
90 min +6: Diaz, who wasn’t quite at his electric best today, but still entertaining enough, is replaced by Jones, who immediately dribbles the ball towards the corner flag.
90 min +5: Cresswell takes the free kick, but it’s easily cleared by Liverpool, who break through Diaz and Mane. Jota eventually sends a dismal shot high into the Kop.
90 min +4: Henderson bundles into the back of Lanzini, and it’s a free kick just to the left of the centre circle. Before it can be taken, Mane is booked for deliberately hoicking the ball away.
90 min +3: The ball did hit Zouma’s hand, but the defender was standing right next to him, and his arm was by his side. Fornals is replaced by 19-year-old Dan Chesters, making his Premier League debut.
90 min +2: Robertson barges his way down the left and reaches the edge of the box before laying off to Mane, whose shot is blocked by Zouma. Mane claims a penalty for handball, but neither referee nor VAR dude shows any interest in awarding one.
90 min: Milner comes on for Keita. There will be a minimum of five added minutes. Plenty of time for West Ham, who are on the front foot here!
89 min: Jota is booked for a cynical clip on Fornals.
88 min: Cresswell takes. Robertson heads clear. Cresswell swings in again. Alisson punches clear. Liverpool break through Jota down the right. He can’t find Diaz in the middle, Lanzini sliding in to intercept. Diaz was clear in the box. A huge chance to secure the three points goes to waste.
87 min: Robertson, in an attempt to dribble into the West Ham box on the left, slips, allowing the visitors to counter. They do so at speed and Fornals wins a corner on the right. On the touchline, Klopp looks extremely concerned. He has reason to be. Cresswell to take.
86 min: Benrahma, with options ahead, releases some of the pressure with a dismal lump forward, straight into Alisson’s arms.
85 min: Noble and Benrahma combine down the left, nearly opening Liverpool up. Jota hacks clear in desperation. This is all West Ham now, with Liverpool hanging on a bit. No, more than a bit. They’re hanging on.
84 min: The Liverpool fans are worried now. Konate concedes a free kick out on the West Ham right. Everyone lines up on the edge of the Liverpool box. Noble floats it in. Alisson makes up for his earlier mistake by claiming with authority.
83 min: Alisson’s appalling clearance, straight to Lanzini, drops Liverpool in it. The ball’s worked left to Benrahma, with the hosts light at the back. Liverpool are extremely fortunate to see Benrahma clank a dreadful cross through the box and away from danger.
81 min: Now it’s West Ham’s turn to do nothing with their corner. That was a huge opportunity for Antonio, though. West Ham have had some big chances this evening. A draw wouldn’t flatter them.
80 min: The corner comes to nought, and West Ham break at speed! Noble rakes a long diagonal pass to release Antonio down the right. Antonio gets as far as the box before dropping a shoulder to see off Robertson. He shapes to shoot, only for Keita to arrive from nowhere and poke out for a corner! Anfield hearts in mouths there.
79 min: Diaz dribbles down the inside-right channel and pulls across for Salah, on the edge of the six-yard box. Salah can’t control, allowing Dawson to come across and hack out for a corner. Before it can be taken, Salah is replaced by Jota. He’s not happy, but he’s not played to his usual standard today, and can’t complain too much.
77 min: Fabinho and Henderson over-elaborate down the left, to loud groaning. Anfield is collectively a bag of nerves now. One mistake could be so costly in the title race.
75 min: Diaz sends a no-backlift screamer sailing just wide of the top-right corner. Not sure Fabianski was getting to that.
74 min: Salah picks up possession 30 yards out and takes an ambitious whack goalwards. It’s easily blocked. Salah was off his game last week in the League Cup final, things not quite coming off for him, and he’s below par again today.
72 min: Mane has a couple of shots blocked from the edge of the West Ham box. The visitors have made plenty of brave interventions this evening.
71 min: Noble chips Alisson from 40 yards, the ball sailing into the top-right corner! Sadly for the West Ham captain, the whistle had long gone for a foul.
70 min: West Ham should be level. Soucek whips in from the right. Lanzini brings the ball down with a gossamer touch that sends Alexander-Arnold off to the shops for the Echo. He’s one on one with Alisson and should score, but leans back and lumps an awful effort high over the bar. What an opportunity!
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69 min: Plenty of pantomime booing for Zouma, by the way. I’m guessing 70-30 Everton/cat.
68 min: Noble wedges a pass down the middle in the hope of releasing Antonio, who tries his best to control with a telescopic leg, but can only poke out for a goal kick.
67 min: Salah tries again, this time hoping to steer one into the bottom left. He doesn’t get enough curl on the shot, and it’s another safe gather for Fabianski.
66 min: Salah, Henderson and Mane ping passes across the face of the West Ham box. Salah then aims for the bottom right. Easy enough for Fabianski.
64 min: Mane slips Diaz into space down the left. Diaz drops a shoulder to breeze infield and, from the edge of the box, curls a shot that only just flies the wrong side of the right-hand post.
63 min: Henderson welcomes his fellow captain Noble by bowling him over. Then Alexander-Arnold and Benrahma tussle down the left, the Liverpool defender getting the benefit of the decision. This is turning into quite the scrap.
61 min: West Ham switch out Vlasic for Noble.
60 min: Van Dijk is forced to break into an uncharacteristically worried sprint to ensure Fornals doesn’t get free down the right. West Ham are certainly asking questions.
58 min: Keita has a bang from 25 yards. The ball flies about 25 yards wide right. A few howls of frustration from the home fans, who may be getting a little nervous with this game (and perhaps their title hopes? Too melodramatic?) on a knife-edge.
56 min: Mane squeezes between a couple of blue shirts out on the left and bursts into space. He rolls into the box for Diaz, who can’t control, 12 yards out. West Ham clear.
55 min: Liverpool haven’t really got going in this second half. West Ham look like they fancy their chances of getting back into this.
53 min: Benrahma comes on for the stricken Bowen, and his first act sees him release Fornals down the left. Once Van Dijk deals with the resulting cross, up pops the offside flag. Mane was attempting to counter when the whistle goes, and he’s none too happy about play stopping.
52 min: Bowen can’t continue, the poor chap looks in a lot of pain. He’s helped off by two physios, limping very slowly, pain etched across his face. That doesn’t look good at all.
51 min: Bowen is down getting some treatment on a sore knee, having landed awkwardly upon being challenged by Robertson back there.
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50 min: Henderson, to the right of the West Ham D, pulls back for Alexander-Arnold, who sends a first-time effort sailing serenely towards the top left. Forensic aim, but nowhere near enough oomph. Easy for Fabianski.
48 min: Down the other end, Bowen scampers free down the inside-left channel. He cocks his leg back to shoot, but Robertson slides in from nowhere to execute a perfectly timed saving tackle. The ball twangs off Bowen and out for a goal kick. West Ham are making chances, that’s for sure.
47 min: Alexander-Arnold crosses deep from the right. Diaz battles with Zouma on the other flank. His hard work ensures possession is retained, to warm applause. It’s safe to say Diaz is in. The denizens of the Kop very happy with their new purchase.
West Ham get the second half underway. No changes at the break. Sky flashed up an interesting stat at half-time: the Hammers had ten shots at goal during that first 45 minutes, and no team has had as many in Klopp’s reign. Safe to say this is far from over.
Half-time schadenfreude. Something for everyone.
HALF TIME: Liverpool 1-0 West Ham United
Not sure how there’s only been one goal. Both teams have played well; both have had plenty of chances. Set up nicely for second-half thrills!
45 min: There will be one extra minute added to this first half.
44 min: Salah dribbles across the face of the West Ham box in rococo fashion, before hoicking a wild shot miles over the bar and deep into the Anfield Road end.
43 min: Keita is dispossessed by Fornals, then Bowen slips Antonio free down the inside-right channel. Antonio knows Van Dijk is on his case, so again takes an early shot. This one slices wide right, never troubling Alisson.
41 min: Vlasic and Fornals get in each other’s way as they attempt to latch onto a deep cross from the right. Goal kick, but Liverpool were a little exposed there again. West Ham have had their chances.
39 min: Pinball in the Liverpool box now! Fornals is sprung clear down the middle by Johnson’s long pass. Liverpool want offside, but Fornals has timed his run brilliantly! He’s one on one with Alisson, and dinks a shot over the keeper. The ball’s heading in, but Alexander-Arnold hooks off the line. Fornals tries to head back. Alisson parries. Bowen then takes a shot that Alexander-Arnold ensures goes out for a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece. What a wild and wonderful couple of minutes at both ends of the pitch!
38 min: An absurd game of pinball in the West Ham six-yard box! Fabinho wedges down the inside right to release Alexander-Arnold, who fires centrally, low and hard. Neither Diaz nor Salah can force home from the middle of a melee. Cresswell, calm as you like, traps on the line and dinks clear!
36 min: Robertson crosses from the left. Diaz attempts to trap and shoot, but is crowded out. The ball pings back to Robertson, who tries again. Fabianski plucks this one out of the air.
34 min: Turns out Dawson was booked for a desperate, late and wholly unsuccessful lunge on Diaz as he raced forward back there.
33 min: The free kick is on the right-hand edge of the D. Alexander-Arnold shifts the ball right, Salah tees it up, and Trent whips towards the top left. Inches wide. If it had been on target, Fabianski was completely out of the game.
32 min: Diaz picks the ball up in his own half and makes it all the way to the edge of the West Ham area, a graceful slalom that burns off Dawson and forces Zouma into a foul that brings a free kick and a booking. Alexander-Arnold’s eyes light up.
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30 min: An entertaining footrace between Antonio and Konate down the West Ham left. Both players move at warp speed. Konate wins by a nose, though Antonio forces him to concede a throw. Nothing comes of that.
28 min: There’s a VAR check for a possible offside ... but Mane is played on by Dawson. Just. Not much in that at all, but the goal stands!
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 West Ham United (Mane 27)
Forget that bit about Hammers happiness! Keita loops a pass towards Alexander-Arnold on the right-hand corner of the D. Alexander-Arnold chests down and sends a low diagonal shot towards the bottom left. Mane nips in between Dawson and Fabianski, and flicks into the net.
Updated
25 min: Salah and Mane attempt an elaborate one-two down the right. It nearly comes off, but Vlasic and Cresswell combine to shut the door just in time. West Ham will be pretty happy with the way this is going so far.
23 min: A bit of pinball in the Liverpool box from the corner. The hosts eventually clear, and launch an ill-fated counter. At least Fornals beat the first man this time.
22 min: Antonio makes good down the left channel again. He looks to have the beating of Konate. He shoots low and hard towards the bottom left. Alisson is forced to tip around the post.
21 min: Something for Fabianski to do here, though, as he plucks a Robertson corner out of the sky with ease.
20 min: Mane shanks a dreadful shot miles wide left. The hosts have enjoyed 73 percent possession so far, but they’ve only put Fabianski to work once, with that early Salah chance.
19 min: Salah versus Vlasic out on the right again. The same outcome, though this one doesn’t look like a free kick. We play on, despite Salah’s fume.
18 min: Diaz glides by Bowen with astonishing ease down the left, but his ball infield is no good. West Ham are holding their shape well, as Moyes sides always do.
16 min: Henderson, Diaz and Alexander-Arnold take turns to probe down the right. Fabinho joins in, then Salah, who looks to have been brought down upon bursting past Vlasic, but the referee’s not interested. Salah was looking for it, but there was contact. It would have been a free kick in Alexander-Arnold territory.
14 min: Antonio gets a yard on Konate down the left and enters the box purposefully. With Van Dijk closing in, he whacks an early shot, forcing Alisson to parry over the bar. Nothing comes of the corner, Fornals failing to beat the first man this time.
12 min: Pinball in the West Ham box. Robertson rolls in from the left. Diaz flicks the ball up, shifts feet, and flicks towards the top right. Dawson bravely stands in the way to block. What a goal that could have been! Salah drags the rebound well wide right. This has been a lovely open game so far.
11 min: Salah tries to release Mane down the inside-right channel, and nearly achieves his goal. Zouma reads the play well, to intercept and hoick away.
9 min: Antonio has spent the last couple of minutes chuntering away at the referee. He seems to have taken umbrage at being told not to get right up in Alisson’s grille. When he finally stops the noise, he very nearly breaks clear down the right, but Robertson gets enough on a toe-poke back to his keeper, who bashes clear. A good response by West Ham, this.
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7 min: Antonio and Soucek get tight on Alisson, who conceded an own goal early on in that aforementioned reverse fixture. But Cresswell’s delivery is hopeless, failing to beat the first man.
6 min: Lanzini scampers into space down the left and loops into the mixer. Van Dijk takes no chances with Fornals nearby and heads behind for a corner. West Ham got plenty of joy from corners at the London Stadium. More here?
4 min: Salah spins Zouma with ease, chasing a Henderson through ball. He enters the box but is denied a shot by a fine sliding tackle from Dawson. Nothing comes of the resulting corner. Salah could easily have bagged a brace already.
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3 min: A free kick for Liverpool out on the left. Alexander-Arnold swings it in low. Van Dijk attempts an outrageous backflick towards the bottom left. The ball flies well wide. Fast start by the hosts.
2 min: Liverpool begin by stroking it around the back for a while. Robertson attempts a dribble, and is quickly surrounded by blue shirts. West Ham are immediately caught offside. Alexander-Arnold takes the free kick super-quickly, releasing Salah on goal! He’s one on one with Fabianski, and should score, but sidefoots straight at the keeper, who nevertheless saves well with his legs. What a start that could have been!
Liverpool get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. More applause of solidarity in the fight for equality. There’s no room for racism.
Before the game starts, the teams mix around the centre circle in a show of solidarity for Ukraine. A huge round of applause. Yellow and blue armbands are worn by captains Jordan Henderson and Aaron Cresswell. A very loud and equally poignant rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone. Football stands together. Godspeed everyone caught up in the war.
The teams are out! Liverpool wear all red, West Ham sport second-choice sky blue and white stripes. We’re one blast of Gerry and the Pacemakers away from kick-off.
West Ham’s record at Anfield isn’t particularly great either. Since winning 2-1 in September 1963, they’ve visited the red half of Merseyside 48 times in the league, and only won once. That sole win was a proper walloping, mind, 3-0 in August 2015, as things started spiralling out of control for Brendan Rodgers. In their own way, then, the Hammers are partially responsible for the chain of events that led to Jurgen Klopp’s arrival. How about that chaos theory, huh. Their overall record for those 48 visits: W1 D12 L35 F25 A 102. But as we said in the preamble, odds are there to be defied.
David Moyes - whose managerial record at Anfield reads P17 W0 D7 L10 - talks to Sky. “We’ve played without Declan Rice a few times, so we’ll get on with it. He’s a big miss, but it’s not a huge rejig. It’s a busy period, but you get busy when you get successful. We’ve got a resilient group and hopefully we’ll show that today. If we play well, we’ll give them a game.”
Jurgen Klopp talks to Sky. “We are the only team that can win the quadruple. We have never thought a second about it, to be honest! But we face these kind of questions. We are only in preparation for this game. We don’t even know when City are playing. We have to win our games. If we lose this game, everyone will ask me if the title race is now over! We just have to throw everything we have in the next game, which is West Ham.”
This game will have big repercussions at the top, one way or another. Liverpool need to close that gap on leaders Manchester City if they’re to keep up the pressure on Pep Guardiola’s men. West Ham meanwhile haven’t given up hopes of grabbing the fourth and final Champions League place, and a big result today would get them into position at Manchester United’s expense. Sixth-placed Arsenal, level on points with West Ham but having only played 24 games, will be Liverpool fans tonight ... and City supporters for the duration of the Manchester derby tomorrow.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 27 | 47 | 66 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 26 | 50 | 60 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 26 | 35 | 53 |
| 4 | Man Utd | 27 | 10 | 47 |
| 5 | West Ham | 27 | 12 | 45 |
Liverpool make eight changes to the side named for the midweek FA Cup win over Norwich City. Alisson, Jordan Henderson and Ibrahima Konate are the only reds to keep their places. Joel Matip is injured but Naby Keita is back from injury. Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz start.
There’s a big blow for West Ham, meanwhile, with Declan Rice missing out altogether through illness. Nikola Vlasic replaces him, one of three changes to the team knocked out of the FA Cup at Southampton. Lukasz Fabianski replaces Alphonse Areola in goal while Aaron Cresswell comes in for the benched Issa Diop.
The teams
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Henderson, Keita, Salah, Mane, Diaz.
Subs: Milner, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jones, Minamino, Jota, Origi, Kelleher, Elliott.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Johnson, Soucek, Vlasic, Fornals, Bowen, Antonio, Lanzini.
Subs: Areola, Noble, Benrahma, Diop, Fredericks, Masuaku, Kral, Okoflex, Chesters.
Referee: Jon Moss (West Yorkshire).
Preamble
Liverpool looked a beaten docket when West Ham United ripped through them at the London Stadium back in November. Jurgen Klopp’s men were flattered by their 3-2 loss, the Hammers dominant in the air as well as on the counter. It’s true that Sadio Mane could, and probably should, have salvaged a draw for the Reds late on, but that would have been an outrageous distortion of the balance of play. Football can be a funny old game sometimes. West Ham went ahead of Liverpool into third.
Four months later, everything is changed. Liverpool have won ten of their last 11 matches in all competitions; the only time they didn’t score more goals than the opposition, they scored more penalties instead, and won the first silverware of the season. Back in the title hunt and with a pot in the cabinet, it’s been a productive run.
West Ham by contrast have lost a bit of that early verve. They’ve only won two of their last six Premier League matches; they nearly got knocked out of the FA Cup by Kidderminster; they did get knocked out of it earlier this week by Southampton. A top-four place isn’t yet out of reach, but other clubs with bigger squads are better placed.
Liverpool are strong favourites with the bookies, then, and it doesn’t help West Ham that David Moyes has never won at Anfield. But odds are there to be defied, sequences broken, and it’s not as though West Ham haven’t already proved this season that they possess the tools to beat tonight’s opposition. Both teams, in their own very different ways, will fancy this. Kick off is at 5.30pm GMT. It’s on!
