Well, that abysmal display from the Redmen ended our 25-game unbeaten run.
Frankly, the Hammers were better than us, being compact at the back, excellent from set-pieces and effective on the counter-attack. They deservedly rose above us in the table.
We knew before the game that playing West Ham, away in the London stadium, is always a tricky match. After going 1-0 down, we, in fairness, looked determined to come-back, eventually equalising from a superb Trent Alexander-Arnold free-kick.
However, the boys were lacklustre in the second-half. They were too-easily played through the middle for West-Ham’s second goal, and poor marking in the box when defending a West Ham corner saw Kurt Zouma free on the back post to knock in their third.
Obviously, the last two games in the Premier League have been frustrating. Winning today would have put us only one point behind Chelsea at the top of the league. Now we have lost, dropping those points against Brighton makes it an even more bitter pill to swallow as we move into fourth place, four points behind the leaders. Nevertheless, it is still early in the season and we are not out of the title race! We should all still hold high hopes for this season.
Here’s how we rated the players.
Alisson – 2
At fault for the first and should have done better on the second. Today’s display from Allison was poor. For the first West Ham goal, Ogbonna jumped earlier and was stronger in the air resulting in Allison mistakenly tipping the ball into his own net. For the second, he arguably should have pushed the ball away better, moving it around the goal. He wasn’t exactly blameless for the third goal either.
However, Allison is allowed to have an off game every-now-and-then as he has saved us countless times in big games – the Atletico away game springs to mind.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
His free-kick was simply world-class, bending it around the right-side of the wall over Jarrod Bowen’s head into the top corner to equalise the game. However, he did not track back quick enough for the second goal, leaving his man free to score.
Virgil Van Dijk – 8
The score line could have been much higher in West Hams favour if it wasn’t for this man. He made a number of critical challenges, and stood up to runners in behind effectively.
Joel Matip – 6
Whilst he made some good blocks, clearances and penetrating passes, he unfortunately got sucked in for the second goal, leaving a runner free to score. Safe to say it was not one of Joel’s best performances.
Andrew Robertson – 5
He did everything right, other than the final ball to pick out a Liverpool player in the box, which is a pretty big deal!
Fabinho – 7
Whilst losing the ball in midfield on occasion, he was generally good in breaking up West Ham’s play and successfully stopped some counter attacks. However, the midfield were played through too easily early in the second half, and must take some responsibility for West Ham’s chances through on goal.
Jordan Henderson – 5
Henderson was OK with his quick-feet, pressing and passing but nothing to write home about. He just needed to, again, deliver a final killer ball, which this time did not materialise.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 5
Whilst Ox made a number of sloppy passes, he drove from deep with the ball well and his movement into space was good. Again, there was no real final product, picking out a key pass to assist a goal.
Sadio Mane – 5
A more clinical performance by Sadio today would have secured us the game, with him missing two sitters. One was a volley hit straight at Fabianski inside the six-yard box. The second, a free header putting it wide of the post. Moreover, he failed to track Zouma’s run in the Box which resulted in him scoring West Ham’s third. However, why Mane was paired up to mark Zouma – West Hams Centre-Half – is beyond me!
Diogo Jota – 5
Didn’t really do much. Nothing standout. The game wasn’t set-up for him. Nevertheless, he did win the ball back on occasions.
Mohamed Salah – 5
Salah was sloppy at times today, getting overcrowded in the box. Although he didn’t get much of the ball today, he did well to draw a foul on the edge of the box, facilitating Trent’s free-kick goal.
Subs:
Thiago – 5
Giving the ball away 3-times in the first 3 minutes of coming on, Thiago failed to calm and control the game. A sub-par performance from Tiago considering his quality.
Origi – 8
Came on and scored a quality goal. Did what he was put on the pitch for.
Minamino – 6
Some good defensive contributions but didn’t contribute much in an attacking sense.
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