Rondon completes Albion comeback to grab point against Liverpool
Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 West Bromwich Albion's Salomon Rondon celebrates scoring their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
(Reuters) - Salomon Rondon completed a remarkable West Bromwich Albion comeback from two goals down against Liverpool although the hard-won point from a 2-2 draw at the Hawthorns on Saturday will probably only delay their relegation.
The visitors appeared to have half an eye on Tuesday's Champions League semi-final against AS Roma but still established a comfortable lead through Danny Ings and Mo Salah.
Ings's goal after just four minutes was his first in the Premier League since October 2015. The striker should have had a second soon afterwards and probably been awarded a penalty after being bundled over by Craig Dawson.
Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Joe Gomez in action with West Bromwich Albion's James McClean REUTERS/Andrew Yates
With Salah notching up his 31st of the season to equal Luis Suarez's club record for goals in a season, Liverpool appeared to have done enough to take the points.
Albion's caretaker manager Darren Moore has, however, injected resilience into his side and, with Liverpool's defence suddenly displaying their early-season sloppiness, Jake Livermore scrambled a goal from a corner after 79 minutes to give Albion hope.
The equaliser followed another set piece late on when Chris Brunt delivered a perfect freekick into the area for Rondon to head home.
Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Danny Ings scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp, who had rested five players going into the game, complained that the pitch was too dry. "It makes a massive difference," said a visibly downbeat Klopp, whose team are still not guaranteed a top-four finish.
Klopp complained they did not get the "right decisions" on the penalty and the foul from Joe Gomez that led to Rondon's goal.
Albion's Livermore accepted that relegation remained almost inevitable with the bottom-of-the-table team eight points off survival with three games to play. "All we can do is keep fighting," he said.
Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Joe Gomez in action with West Bromwich Albion's James McClean REUTERS/Andrew Yates
His team mate Ahmed Hegazi may face retrospective action from the FA after television cameras clearly caught him punching Ings after a tackle.
(Reporting by Neil Robinson; Editing by Clare Fallon)
Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates scoring their second goal REUTERS/Andrew YatesSoccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 West Bromwich Albion's Salomon Rondon fouls Liverpool's Ragnar Klavan Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 West Bromwich Albion's Jake Livermore scores their first goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Jordan Henderson in action Action Images via Reuters/Andrew BoyersSoccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Loris Karius saves a shot from West Bromwich Albion's Salomon Rondon Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or "live" services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your account representative for further details.Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 West Bromwich Albion's Matt Phillips in action with Liverpool's Ragnar Klavan Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 West Bromwich Albion's Salomon Rondon scores their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers Soccer Football - Premier League - West Bromwich Albion v Liverpool - The Hawthorns, West Bromwich, Britain - April 21, 2018 Liverpool's Jordan Henderson and West Bromwich Albion's Jake Livermore after the match Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
