Trying to keep their momentum after beating Manchester Metropolis on Sunday (October 16), Liverpool welcomed West Ham United to city for his or her Premier League tussle on Wednesday (October 19).
The Merseysiders weren’t at all times in command of the sport however did effectively to seal a 1-0 win in entrance of their followers at Anfield. Summer time signing Darwin Nunez scored the one objective for the sport within the first half.
With the win, the Merseysiders have climbed as much as seventh place within the Premier League standings. Having secured 16 factors from 10 matches, Liverpool discover themselves 4 factors adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.
The Reds seemed extra snug than West Ham early on within the match however needed to wait till 14 minutes to lodge their first shot on track. Nunez caught the ball on the half-volley from outdoors the field to ship it swerving in direction of Lukasz Fabianski’s objective. The Polish goalkeeper made a vital save to disclaim Nunez his first Anfield objective since becoming a member of from Benfica.
Eight minutes later, Nunez got here once more, solely this time, his effort breached Fabianski’s resistance. Kostas Tsimikas curled in a fantastic cross from the left, and Nunez attacked it with intent, directing his header previous the hapless Fabianski. A minute later, Nunez acquired the chance to double his tally however ended up guiding his header straight down the Pole’s throat.
Within the thirty eighth minute, Mohamed Salah went for objective with a roller. Nevertheless, his effort was relatively tame and was collected pretty simply by Fabianski. Simply earlier than the half-time whistle, the Hammers had been awarded a penalty kick, courtesy of Joe Gomez’s foul on Jarrod Bowen. Bowen stepped as much as take the kick however didn’t convert, along with his effort being comprehensively parried behind by Alisson.
Liverpool and West Ham traded blows within the second half, however each groups lacked composure in entrance of objective. 4 minutes earlier than the full-time whistle, Tomas Soucek seemed destined to equalize for West Ham, however James Milner’s extraordinary last-ditch block ensured most factors for the hosts.
Listed below are three gamers who impressed and two who missed the mark in Liverpool’s win over West Ham on Wednesday evening:
Carried out: Jordan Henderson
Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson produced a commendable efficiency towards West Ham United on Wednesday. The Englishman labored tirelessly over the course of the match, carried the ball effectively into the opposition’s half, switched play along with his lengthy balls, and even got here near scoring.
Within the forty eighth minute, Henderson performed a bit one-two with Salah earlier than going for objective with a chipped try from outdoors the field. Fabianski beautifully tipped the ball over the bar to disclaim the Reds’ skipper.
On Wednesday, Henderson performed two key passes, took extra touches than another participant (106), and received all 4 of his floor duels. Moreover, he delivered six correct lengthy balls, tried three tackles, and accomplished a dribble.
Underperformed: Trent Alexander-Arnold
Proper-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was significantly beneath his finest towards the Hammers. He misplaced passes, ceded possession relatively regularly, and was simply overwhelmed in floor duels.
Towards West Ham, Alexander-Arnold misplaced 5 of six crosses, noticed seven of his 10 tried lengthy balls veer astray, and misplaced each his floor duels. He additionally misplaced possession 23 occasions, misplaced 14 passes, and was dribbled previous twice.
Carried out: Alisson
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson didn’t have the perfect of begins to the sport, with him misplacing some early passes. Nevertheless, the skilled Brazilian shot-stopper settled down because the match wore on. He was barely referred to as into motion within the first half however produced the products when he wanted to, saving a vital penalty.
54% – Alisson has solely conceded seven of the 13 penalties he has confronted within the Premier League (54% – 2 saved, 4 astray), the bottom proportion of any goalkeeper to face at the least ten spot-kicks within the competitors. Skilled. https://t.co/DNYGSx6NmW
Gomez’s problem on Bowen was initially dubbed honest by the on-field referee, however VAR requested him to rethink and provides the guests a penalty. Bowen’s spot-kick was first rate but it surely wasn’t ok to beat Alisson, who heroically lunged to his proper to disclaim him. Alisson made a complete of three saves towards West Ham, delivered seven correct lengthy balls, and had 5 recoveries.
Underperformed: Fabinho
Launched in Thiago’s place within the 58th minute, Fabinho didn’t put his finest foot ahead towards West Ham. He was typically gradual to react, was rotated approach too simply, and didn’t become involved within the sport.
The Brazil worldwide made solely 16 passes (76.2% accuracy), misplaced three of 4 floor duels, ceded possession six occasions, and dedicated a foul. He additionally misplaced the one deal with he tried and was dribbled previous twice.
Carried out: Darwin Nunez
Liverpool’s marquee summer season signing Darwin Nunez arguably produced his best-ever efficiency for the Reds on Wednesday evening. Other than making use of a superb headed end to Tsimikas’ cross within the twenty second minute, Nunez hit the publish as soon as and drew a few beautiful saves from Fabianski. Had the Uruguayan had a little bit of luck on his facet, he might have walked away with a brace or higher.
Darwin Nunez loved his first objective at Anfield 😜 https://t.co/6WRXoJSfRt
Along with scoring the winner, Nunez received two duels, drew a foul, cleared the ball as soon as, and made 12 correct passes (85.7% accuracy) on Wednesday.
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