No word from Manuel Pellegrini, so that’s your lot! It’s been a poor evening for Liverpool, a good evening for West Ham United, and an even better one for Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. But we should remind ourselves Klopp’s side are still three clear at the top. There will be plenty more twists yet. Jacob Steinberg was on hand at the London Stadium to witness the latest turn, and here’s his verdict. Thanks for reading, and nighty night!
And now an agitated Jurgen Klopp, who isn’t happy with the referee at all. “It was not our best. We scored the goal which I heard after the game was offside, which explains a little bit the second half, because I think the referee knew at half-time, I thought they only knew at full time but he knew it for sure at half-time. But there were a lot of strange situations, not decisive but rhythm-breakers, which doesn’t help. They scored the goal so it’s a deserved draw. I spoke to the ref about the situations but really calmly. He did not respond nicely. I asked is that the way we talk now? And he said we don’t talk at all. And then I left, so nothing serious. The second half there were so many free kicks for the other team in a counter-press situation when Naby wins the ball back and they go down. That’s not a foul. But as a human being if I knew I made a big mistake in the first half, I don’t want to open the gap a bit more, so I understand that. But during the game I did not understand it because I didn’t know our goal was offside. It’s a point, so let’s carry on. We have to perform. It is too early to talk about a title race. I didn’t see a good game, and a couple of players did not perform at the highest level, but that’s normal, it has happened before and will happen again.” He seemed a lot happier towards the end of the interview; maybe having got that off his chest, he’s talked himself out of a hot funk.
Now it’s the turn of West Ham captain Mark Noble. “January was a bad month, so to come here after three defeats was massive for us. We should have scored more goals. Liverpool are a fantastic team but we defended well tonight and we deserved to win. You have to defend really well, and keep your shape. As well as that, we scared them with two or three counters. I’m just gutted we didn’t come away with the three points. We’re gutted in there because their goal was a mile offside. All in all, they’re probably the best team in the league at the minute and we played really well today.”
He’s then asked whether Liverpool’s nerves are betraying them. And his response is pretty interesting. “Well I watched the game at Anfield in the week [against Leicester] and you can tell that with the history Liverpool have got, there was anxiety around the stadium, and that feeds into the players. You could feel it sitting at home on my sofa. It’s just that Liverpool want to win the league so much. They’ve got a great chance of doing it, but obviously their fans have to stick by and keep supporting them, especially when you’re leading and everyone’s chasing. And Man City are not going to rest for one game. I’m pretty sure they’ll be fine, they’ve got a fantastic squad of players and a world-class manager and do you know what? For the Liverpool people, I think it’d be fantastic if they did win it. Manchester City have won a few!”
A melancholic Virgil van Dijk speaks. “A draw is tough but they defended very well, and we were unlucky we didn’t win. Our defending could have been a lot better, but it is what it is. We have to take our one point from tonight and keep going. Set pieces are their strength, they practice them a lot and it showed. For us, it would have been better to not give easy fouls away. Though I think the referee was a bit easy at times, but it’s his decision and we need to do better as well. All the players who come in have the quality to fill in, but when you have a back four that doesn’t change, maybe it’s a little easier. What can we do? We take it game by game. We’re still top of the league, though we’ve made it hard for ourselves. But we’re still in the title race, and some teams are not. You need to enjoy the pressure, you can also be playing for nothing. We need to be our best for the rest of the season. We’re disappointed, but we go again.”
Jurgen Klopp doesn’t look happy at all. He holds a full-and-frank discussion with Manuel Pellegrini as the pair shake hands, then rants awhile at the referee. Neither man seems particularly interested in engaging. Not sure what his problem is, to be honest. It might be about the amount of added time? In which case, Liverpool still had 94 minutes across the piece to score more than one goal. His team were very poor tonight. West Ham, by comparison, were excellent. Their point consolidates their position in 12th, where they sit behind Leicester on goal difference, 32 points. Liverpool extend their lead over Manchester City to three points, on 62 points, but they’ll be knocked off top spot in a couple of days should Pep Guardiola’s side win at Everton. City will have played a game more, of course, but then Liverpool’s corresponding extra fixture is at Manchester United, and the form book suggests only one winner there. It’s not been a good week for Liverpool at all.
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FULL TIME: West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool
Keita flicks the ball over the West Ham back line to release Origi! But the striker can’t sort his feet out, and shoots straight at Fabianski! And that’s it! Liverpool drop two points in the title race, West Ham more than deserving of the draw!
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90 min +2: Milner crosses from right. Doip slices hysterically into the air. But Ogbonna clears. Up the other end, Allison races from the box only to head straight to Carroll! Fortunately for the keeper, Robertson is on hand to sweep up.
90 min +1: Nothing happens in the first added minute. It’s all played in Liverpool’s half, as well. West Ham have been excellent tonight.
90 min: Felipe Anderson makes way for Arthur Masuaku, as the stadium announcer gives him the man-of-the-match award. There will be three minutes of added time.
89 min: Fellow would-be title-winners Spurs have found late goals in each of their last three matches. Can Liverpool get one here? It doesn’t look like it right now. Milner finds a bit of space down the right and pulls one back for Keita, who shapes to shoot but hesitates. He’s eventually dispossessed by Snodgrass, who wins a free kick into the bargain.
87 min: Robertson and Mane pair up to zip down the left. Robertson’s eventual low cross forces Cresswell to hack out for a corner. The set piece falls to the feet of Salah, but Antonio is up in his grille in short order, and the danger is cleared. Salah looks pained.
85 min: Keita has the ball in the middle of West Ham territory. But there’s no movement ahead of him, no pass to be made. He waves his arms about in Kloppian style, equally frustrated with how this match is panning out.
83 min: Salah and Shaqiri try to combine down the inside-right channel, but the passes aren’t sticking. On the touchline, Klopp is incandescent, throwing his arms around in a very animated manner. It’s only a month ago that Liverpool were playing a match at Manchester City in the hope of going ten points clear. Now, unless they score in the next seven minutes, City can leapfrog them by winning at Everton in a couple of days.
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81 min: Origi motors his way down the left and is illegally tugged back. A free kick, and a chance for Liverpool to load the West Ham box. Shaqiri takes. It’s half cleared. Salah takes a shot from the edge of the D. It hits van Dijk, who isn’t offside and can bustle down the inside-right channel. He’s clear in the box but doesn’t fancy a shot from a tight angle. Instead, his weak cross is easily snaffled by Fabianski.
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79 min: A double change by West Ham. Mark Noble and Javier Hernandez are replaced by Pedro Obiang and Liverpool’s former £35m man Andy Carroll. This script almost writes itself. Let’s see where this goes, then.
77 min: Felipe Anderson is sent racing down the left by Noble’s fine crossfield ball. He one-twos with Snodgrass on the edge of the Liverpool box. It looks for a nanosecond like he’s through, but Matip reads it well, sticks out a telescopic leg, intercepts and clears.
76 min: Liverpool have scored 14 times this season in the final 15 minutes. Only Arsenal and Chelsea can match that record. What the visitors would do to grab a precious 15th tonight. They’re seeing plenty of the ball; they’re just not doing a great deal with it, and West Ham look extremely comfortable.
75 min: Liverpool make their second change of the evening, hooking Firmino, strangely ineffectual tonight, and sending on Divock Origi.
74 min: Keita’s cute dribble down the inside-left channel nearly opens up West Ham. But his flick to Salah comes off his team-mate’s arm, and the pressure is off.
73 min: Snodgrass dribbles his way past Matip down the left. He cuts back for Felipe Anderson, who half handles the ball into the path of Noble. The West Ham captain sends a first-time shot inches over the bar. That was so close. West Ham have had their chances.
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71 min: There’s not a great deal going on right now. West Ham will be happy enough with that: a point will put a stop to their current losing run. Liverpool, not so much. This is a big 20 minutes in the Premier League season. Far from decisive, of course; it’s only February after all. But big enough.
69 min: Liverpool are finally able to make their substitution. Lallana is sacrificed for Shaqiri.
67 min: Liverpool have very little going on right now. Accordingly, they’re preparing to bring on Xherdan Shaqiri.
65 min: Matip beckenbauers his way upfield, but there’s one feint too many. He has the ball nicked off him by Rice, who launches a counter into the space left by the Liverpool defender. The ball is sent wide right for Antonio, who instigates a game of pinball in the Liverpool area. Hernandez doesn’t get the break, and Liverpool can hack clear.
64 min: Liverpool’s desperation is beginning to bubble to the surface. Robertson tries his luck, 30 yards out down the left. Nope!
62 min: Salah suddenly looks lively. Another shot, this time wild and over the bar. But he was a complete non-event in the first half, and this represents a big improvement. Liverpool certainly need something more from him. On the touchline, Klopp claps in encouragement.
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61 min: Salah jigs in from the right and shapes a shot around Cresswell, towards the far corner. But there’s no real whip on the shot, and it’s easy pickings for Fabianski. Salah looks pained; the away fans sing his name by way of support.
60 min: Hernandez is booked for coming through the back of Fabinho in the centre circle. A pointless challenge.
59 min: Liverpool are looking very rusty. They’ve got a three-on-two, but Mane and Firmino confuse each other with misplaced passes, and West Ham can tear clear.
58 min: Salah is sent free by Fabinho’s long ball down the inside left, but Fredericks has him covered and it turns out Salah is offside anyway. West Ham go up the other end through the ever-impressive Felipe Anderson, who nearly sets Cresswell off on the overlap, but overhits the pass slightly. Goal kick. This match continues to entertain, even if the quality isn’t from the top drawer.
56 min: Space for Milner down the right. His whipped cross is a dangerous one, but avoids everyone. Robertson tries again from the other flank, having retrieved the ball, but his cross takes a deflection and loops into the arms of Fabianski.
55 min: Cresswell slams the free kick straight into the Liverpool wall and then sprays the rebound miles over the bar.
54 min: And now Matip goes in the book as he drags Felipe Anderson to ground as the West Ham winger spins him. Lallana is still moaning about the non-decision earlier. Anyway, this is a free kick in a central position, 30 yards out.
53 min: Lallana throws his arms in the air after failing to get a free-kick decision from a common-or-garden tussle in the midfield. Liverpool could do with calming down.
51 min: Robertson slips a ball down the left for Mane, who lays off to Lallana on the edge of the box. Lallana tees up Salah, rushing in, but the resulting shot, while powerful, is straight at Fabianski.
49 min: Lallana scampers down the right and attempts a flick into the box. The ball hits Ogbonna, just inside the area, on his arm. Lallana claims for a penalty, but that was totally accidental, Liverpool were never getting that. The first signs of frustration from Liverpool, who shouldn’t be getting desperate yet.
48 min: But Liverpool don’t clear their lines properly, Allison slicing an upfield hoof straight out of play on the left. Antonio wins a corner from the throw. And from the corner, Diop has a clear header eight yards out, but guides it wide left. Liverpool can’t keep giving up chances like this.
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47 min: Felipe Anderson embarks on a skitter down the left and is blocked off by Milner. Yet another chance for West Ham to bother Liverpool with a cheeky free kick. But they make a balls of this one, Anderson dribbling in from the left and shooting witlessly into a thicket.
And we’re off again! Liverpool are out early, waiting for West Ham. In the dugout, a pensive Jurgen Klopp sits biting his lip. He may be considering how Manchester City will be able to go top on Wednesday night if things stay the same here and they win at Everton. His charges get the second half underway when the hosts eventually turn up.
Half-time entertainment:
HALF TIME: West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool
And that’s that for the first half. Title-chasing Liverpool will be pleased to hear the whistle, as they were beginning to seriously rock at the back. West Ham look much the happier as the players trudge off. Jurgen Klopp races down the tunnel, preparing to tell his defenders a few home truths, I’ll be bound. Don’t go anywhere, this promises to be a rip-roaring second half!
45 min: There will be one added minute. This half of football has flown by.
44 min: Mane nearly adds insult to injury, as he meets Milner’s inswinging free kick with a flashed header by the near post. Fortunately for West Ham, it’s straight at Fabianski.
43 min: Fredericks thinks Mane has pushed him as the pair contest a ball down the Liverpool left. He’s not getting the free kick, though he should. So then he loses his composure and barges into the back of Mane. This time the free kick’s given, just to the left of the West Ham area.
41 min: Fabinho gives away another free kick, needlessly tripping a surrounded Hernandez out on the West Ham right. What will they come up with this time? Felipe Anderson sends a diagonal curler over the top of the pack lined up on the edge of the box. It drops to Rice, totally free, 12 yards out! But Rice sends his header screaming over the bar when it was surely easier to score! He can’t believe he’s missed it ... though he might (stress might, it was very close) have been offside. Either way, though, the flag stayed down, and Liverpool’s defence is a complete shambles.
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39 min: Keita continues to attack with elan, gliding down the left and releasing Robertson on the overlap. Robertson crosses low and hard, through the six-yard box, but Ogbonna toe-pokes it away from Firmino and out for a corner. A corner that’s not awarded. Liverpool are collectively livid, and the crowd enjoyed that very much, cheering the decision almost as loudly as the equaliser.
37 min: Snodgrass makes to bulldoze down the middle of the park, but he’s sent flying as Mane runs into his back. It should be a booking, but it’s only a free kick. And once again Liverpool are half asleep. Felipe Anderson wedges the set piece down the left, where Hernandez has peeled away into space. Fortunately for Liverpool, he shins one high into the air, miles off target. Liverpool do not look comfortable at the back at all.
36 min: Lallana drags down Noble, out on the West Ham left. Another chance to load the box. Snodgrass’s free kick is half cleared by Matip, but only to Noble on the edge of the area. Noble takes a touch and shoots low and hard, but van Dijk is on hand to block and blooters clear.
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34 min: This is high-octane fare. Accurate passes are at a premium right now.
32 min: Keita hasn’t let his role in the equaliser affect him too much. Again he dribbles with purpose at West Ham, down the inside-left channel, and is nearly sent clear into the area after one-twoing with Firmino. But Firmino’s backheel is too firm, and Fabianski gathers without fuss.
30 min: Keita’s see-saw match continues, as he drives towards the West Ham box, a fine run that earns a corner. That one comes to nothing. Good luck predicting how this one’s going to end up. Surely not 1-1. It’s such an open, entertaining game.
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GOAL! West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool (Antonio 28)
Fabinho clumsily bundles Snodgrass to the ground, gifting West Ham a free kick 35 yards out, Everyone’s bunched to the left of the D. Felipe Anderson gives it the eyebrows, making to cross, then slips a cheeky one down the right. Antonio is in the box free, having torn away from a dozing Keita. Antonio threads a glorious shot across Allison and into the bottom left! What a brilliant training ground free kick ... but terrible sleepy defending by the title hopefuls.
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26 min: Salah romps down the right and slips the ball inside for Mane, who rolls it on to Keita. Liverpool’s summer signing has been short on confidence, but here it seems to flood back with immediate effect, flicking an outrageous first-time backheel down the left to release Robertson. But Robertson’s low cross is blocked out for a corner, which leads to nothing.
24 min: Liverpool haven’t lost after scoring first since April 2017, bogey team Crystal Palace doing for them that time. West Ham have troubled Liverpool already, though; can they put an end to that record?
GOAL! West Ham United 0-1 Liverpool (Mane 22)
The in-form Mane gives Liverpool the lead against the run of play! It’s wonderful work by Lallana, tiptoeing on the right-hand touchline and dinking the ball past Cresswell and Snodgrass, who had surely boxed him in. But no! Milner’s set free. Milner pulls the ball back for Mane, who takes a touch, turns and pearls a shot into the bottom left! That was a delightful move. There’s only one problem, though ... Milner was a good yard offside when Lallana found him with his twinkle toes. Liverpool get a huge break there.
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21 min: Felipe Anderson nearly gets past Milner down the left, but earns a corner off the stand-in right-back. Cresswell takes the set piece, but it’s extremely poor and Salah is able to sweep the ball away from the danger zone without any trouble.
20 min: A one-two between Firmino and Mane down the centre, and Firmino enters the box just to the left of centre. He looks for the bottom right, but scuffs his effort and the ball bounces harmlessly into the arms of Fabianski.
18 min: Something of a lull, which Liverpool will welcome, having been unable to get a secure foothold in this match so far. It quietens the crowd. Well, a bit. “Good to see Liverpool wearing grey tonight rather than that ‘highlighter pen orange’ from last year,” writes Ian Sargeant. “If my memory serves they wore grey when Paul Ince did his thing in the League Cup 30 years ago. Yes that is a straw clutch.”
16 min: Space for Cresswell down the left. He hooks low into the area, looking for Snodgrass. But the ball clanks off Lallana and back into Allison’s arms. A lucky break. But West Ham are soon coming at Liverpool again, Hernandez pearling a shot from the right of the D towards the top left. Allison does extremely well to bat it away at full stretch, and the danger is over. Liverpool are looking very nervous; West Ham can sense their shakiness.
14 min: Felipe Anderson slips a pass down the left. It would have released Snodgrass, but the Scotland international slips on the turf, allowing Milner to swan off with the ball. The crowd appreciated that; West Ham have started very well in attack and Liverpool already don’t look totally secure at the back.
12 min: Milner fires a low pass down the right. Salah is this close to shuttling it through a gap first time, down the channel to release Lallana. Ogbonna does extremely well to step in and close the door.
10 min: And once again, West Ham are inches away from pearling one into the bottom right of Liverpool’s net! This time it’s Cresswell, who sends a low diagonal screamer just wide after cutting in from the left, the finishing touch to a good move involving Antonio down the other wing. The home fans thought that one was in, and no wonder, it was so, so close!
9 min: Another corner for Liverpool out on the left, won by Robertson who had been sent into acres of space by a lovely van Dijk crossfield ball. Salah hits the corner too long, but it clanks off Cresswell and pinballs back to Firmino, who tees up Lallana on the edge of the area. He’s got plenty of space and time, but snatches woefully at the shot and sends a dribbler through to Fabianski. That was a real chance.
7 min: Fredericks sends a poor clearance up the West Ham right. Liverpool come back at him through Mane, who dribbles his way to a corner off the same player. The gift of a set piece comes to nothing. This is a lively enough start.
5 min: Keita scuttles around on the left, then launches a long diagonal pass to send Salah free down the middle. Just a little too much on the ball, which Fabianski deals with at the very edge of his box. Salah not miles off from that, though.
4 min: Mane and Firmino combine well down the Liverpool left. A crisp little jink and flick from Firmino then sets Robertson clear into the box, but the flag goes up for offside. A sense already that there may be goals in this game.
3 min: West Ham come so close to an early goal! Cresswell drives down the left. He cuts inside and finds Felipe Anderson, who feeds Noble, who slides a fine pass down the inside-left channel. Hernandez is able to turn van Dijk and curl low and hard towards the bottom right. The ball flashes inches wide of the post. Not sure Allison was getting to that, had it been on target.
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2 min: Some head tennis in the centre circle. Nobody’s quite found their range yet.
Under a big screen screaming Come On You Irons, Hernandez gets the ball rolling! The hosts immediately blooter the ball out of play; the home fans finish a full-throated rendition of Bubbles. Both sets of supporters giving it plenty!
The teams are out! Thousands of pretty bubbles float into the night air as West Ham United and Liverpool take to the pitch at the London Stadium. Mark Noble leads out the hosts, James Milner the visitors. A rare old noise at the London Stadium. It’s not quite at Upton Park levels, but it is what it is. As the teams shake hands, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah both look extremely relaxed; the same can’t be said for some of their supporters. For example, here’s Matt Dony: “Goes without saying, but it’s a big game tonight. I actually don’t think nerves were a big issue last week; more a case of a makeshift defence and a collective off-day. These things happen to every team now and then. But, there’s been so much talk about ‘nervousness’ since then, it’s bound to have some kind of effect. There’s an enormous amount of pressure on the players, they’re in an unfamiliar position, and it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Keep telling them that they’re nervous, and nerves will creep in. A big performance and a comfortable win tonight, and just maybe I can let myself start to dream. Any less than that, and I fear City will have the impetus. Argh! I flipping hate football!”
Jurgen Klopp talks! “Gini had a knee problem, so we couldn’t use him. Hendo yesterday had to finish the session yesterday early. You want to have all your boys around, but that’s the Premier League and we need to be ready for a big fight. But West Ham are without Arnautovic and have a lot of injuries themselves, so that’s how football is. You have to make the best of what you have.” He’s then asked whether it gets harder to put what City are doing to one side. “Does it get harder to ask that question five million times in a row?! [laughs uproariously at own bon mot] I can’t give a better answer, for me no. If you want to be first at the end of the season you need to be ready for a tough fight, you cannot hope that you will be champion in March, that’s happened only two or three times in history, and at really big clubs in a much worse league than the Premier League. It’s all good, we have to win our games, that doesn’t change.”
Tonight’s kits. West Ham will be wearing their famous claret and blue, sported here by the legendary Bobby Moore ...
... while Liverpool will sport a homage to this number from their last title-winning season. The equally handsome Glenn Hysen, ladies and gentlemen.
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Manuel Pellegrini speaks! “Cresswell was injured the last game, but he is normally in the starting eleven. Pablo has been playing too many games so I think it is good for him to take a rest. Hernandez knows what he can give to the team, he’s a box player. Unfortunately for us he’s had a lot of injuries, now he’s got the chance again to start, and hopefully he’ll give us the goal we couldn’t get in the last games. We are playing against the leader, the best team this season, but in football you never know. We are not going to change our style, we are trying to win from the first minute.”
Both managers make three changes from midweek. West Ham were hoping that Marko Arnautovic would recover from the foot injury he picked up in the 3-0 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers, but he’s not made it. His place up front is taken by Javier Hernandez. Meanwhile Pablo Zabaleta and Arthur Masuaku drop to the bench, making way for Ryan Fredericks and Aaron Cresswell.
Liverpool are forced into a rejig in the wake of the 1-1 draw with Leicester City. Jordan Henderson has a muscle problem, while Georginio Wijnaldum has a sore knee. James Milner fills in at left-back, while Fabinho returns to the midfield. Meanwhile Xherdan Shaqiri makes way for Adam Lallana.
The teams
West Ham United: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Snodgrass, Noble, Rice, Felipe Anderson, Antonio, Hernandez.
Subs: Zabaleta, Carroll, Adrian, Obiang, Masuaku, Lucas Perez, Diangana.
Liverpool: Alisson, Milner, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Fabinho, Keita, Mane, Firmino, Lallana, Salah.
Subs: Sturridge, Moreno, Mignolet, Shaqiri, Origi, Jones, Camacho.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).
Preamble
Manuel Pellegrini has already denied Liverpool a first title since 1990, of course. He was the Manchester City manager who pipped Brendan, Luis, Stevie et al to the Premier League back in 2014. And if he does a number on them as West Ham United boss tonight, he’ll throw a spanner in the works of their latest championship challenge. “If we win, I will be very happy for our club first,” he says. “After that, if we can give a hand to Manchester City, it’s not our problem, but of course I am a fan of Manchester City also.”
Looking at it one way, Pellegrini is talking more in hope than expectation. Liverpool have put four goals past West Ham in each of their last four meetings. They’re top of the table, two points clear of champions Manchester City with a game in hand, while the Hammers are marooned in mid-table having lost their last three matches. That’ll explain why the home side are priced 8-1 for the win at your local turf accountant.
Then again, West Ham were extremely impressive in their last match at the London Stadium, a victory over Arsenal more comprehensive than the 1-0 scoreline suggests. Their most potent goal threat, Marko Arnautovic, is expected to have recovered from injury in time for this match. Also, Declan Rice. Overall, the Hammers are steadily improving under Pellegrini, and are certainly more of a threat than the team brushed aside at Anfield on the opening day.
And Liverpool will be nervous. It’s only February, but with City breathing down their necks, any dropped points will feel like ... well, a Hammer blow. Which sets this up deliciously. Both teams are desirous of a statement victory, West Ham to regain that upward momentum, Liverpool to re-establish that five-point cushion at the top. Here goes another crucial match in the title race, then. It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm GMT.
