Liverpool show a return of desire versus West Ham

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Liverpool took to an away game in London for their second fixture of the week tonight. With a point to prove and a league position to fight for, Liverpool showed a much improved performance against West Ham United who have been having their own run of fantastic form.

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After a positive mid-week performance against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool fans, pundits and journalists alike were questioning whether this improvement in form was a one-off, or whether Liverpool could recreate some of this quality against another tough opponent, West Ham.

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Liverpool have experimented with centre back pairings this season. Particularly since the loss of Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez, Jürgen Klopp’s best two players in the position has been questioned endlessly with Liverpool fielding twenty different pairings this season.

If you weren’t convinced after the Tottenham game (on Thursday) that Nat Phillips is the best solution to Liverpool’s centre back crisis, then after the West Ham game, your mind should be made up. He is good in the air, not fazed by physical challenges against aggressive players and his confidence levels were appropriate for someone who’s had as little a game time as he has. Despite not making the header that allowed West Ham a goal back into the game, ducking too early, he remained composed and assured showing how he easily outdoes the other option: Rhys Williams. Phillips remained calm, taking the ball off of the West Ham forwards even on the 90 minute mark. Phillips’ composure contrasts that of Williams who has panicked and appeared unstable in similar situations. The goal against Aston Villa’s youngsters in the FA Cup comes to mind. Now the question is, will Liverpool secure the defensive reinforcements that are needed before the transfer window closes tomorrow night?

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Passes forward seemed more purposeful in the second half for Liverpool with the team getting strikers into the game with an ease that has evaded them of late. Despite this, Divock Origi’s contributions fail to be noteworthy with the Belgian forward not making an impact again. Eventually Origi ended up being replaced with a minor injury which can only increase the desire for Diogo Jota’s timely return.

Sadio Mané was left out of the squad this evening after picking up a minor muscle strain, yet Mohammed Salah managed to shine, scoring from two very skilful efforts.

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Curtis Jones made an immediate impact after being subbed on for James Milner who was one of the creative catalysts going forward. Milner, who was playing well and was understandably frustrated at being taken off, managed to laugh off the substation with manager Jürgen Klopp, once Jones’ presence had resulted in him gaining an assist for Mohammed Salah’s first goal of the night.

Xherdan Shaqiri was facing some criticism at half-time but in the second half provided one of the best assists seen so far this season. Liverpool’s second goal was a thing of beauty, with only 4 players touching the ball after a West Ham corner was taken poorly, not clearing the first man. Andy Robertson’s clearing header fell kindly to Trent Alexander-Arnold who played in an incredible long-range, cross-field pass to Shaqiri who was in acres of space on the left-hand wing. Initially fearing Shaqiri’s assisted ball too high and too early, Salah’s deft touch on his weaker foot allowed him to slot home past Lukasz Fabianski with the outside of his left boot. A wonderful team goal that Liverpool have struggled with so far in 2021.

Liverpool’s third goal was the epitome of their team play; no one player is bigger than the rest of the team. Roberto Firmino and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain linked up nicely with a slick back heel from Oxlade-Chamberlain into Firmino, who selflessly passed into Wijnaldum. The Dutchman then tapped in Liverpool’s third around the West Ham defenders and keeper Fabianski.

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Worryingly, Takumi Minamino appears to have fallen out of favour with boss Jürgen Klopp. Minamino has not been selected as either a starter or a substitute in the Premier League since he started and scored in Liverpool’s 7-0 win on the 19th of December. Rumours are circulating that he isn’t impressing in training which is not good for a team that needs to rely on rotation more so than ever this season.

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Trent Alexander-Arnold showed more signs of improvement today, particularly defensively. Whilst a dip in form has recently impacted Alexander-Arnold’s forward-play, his defensive ability has always had a question mark around it. However, today showed that this element of Trent’s game is being improved upon. He read West Ham attacks with accurate body positioning and effective, well-read interceptions. Aggression in terms of physicality has often deemed a weak point of Alexander-Arnold’s play, however he today demonstrated a much more polished ability to defend effectively as well as attack.

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Gini Wijnaldum also demonstrated why he will be missed if he does make a summer move to Barcelona this year. Dubbed Liverpool’s ‘unsung hero’ by Gary Neville in commentary [Sky Sports] Wijnaldum remained controlled and calm, covering forward play by consistently performing well at the back of a midfield diamond.

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Whilst Thiago Alcantara had a relatively quiet game, he was less reckless than he has been in other games thus far. Since his move from Bayern Munich, Thiago’s role in the Liverpool midfield has been questioned. Quick to be booked in his last two games, Thiago has appeared rash in his decision making after losing the ball. However, against West Ham he managed to ping the ball around the field calmly and remained out of the referees book indicating that he is adapting slowly but surely to his new role English Premier League.

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Liverpool now need to keep the momentum ahead of another double header next week. They face both Brighton and Manchester City at Anfield in their first two February fixtures. Arguably, both are must-win games. Both will be a challenge, but both will be another chance to regain points and climb closer to the summit of the Premier League table.

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