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Who needs five substitutes when two are enough? Jürgen Klopp may be advocating the return of the five-substitute rule, but all Liverpool required was the powerful introduction of Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri to complete another comeback victory, advance three points to the top of the Premier League and equalize. a club record of 63 unbeaten league games at Anfield.
West Ham had good reason to regret quality on the champions’ bench. David Moyes’s team defended tenaciously, attacked dangerously, whenever they managed to take possession of Liverpool, that is, and put on a performance that underlined the progress they are making this season. However, they ended up suffering the same fate as 28 of the previous 29 Premier League visitors at Anfield. Defeat.
For the third consecutive league game, Liverpool conceded first, but laughed at the end. For the third straight game, and the second straight league game at home, Jota showed his value even on a team packed with world-class talent by entering the roster. Their winner came five minutes from time, a clinical finish after being released into the box by a sublime pass from Shaqiri. It would have been his second of the night, but the VAR and the referee, Kevin Friend, canceled another predatory shot from the Portugal international minutes before.
“That shows the quality they can bring and probably why other clubs didn’t want so many substitutes this season,” admitted the West Ham coach. “It must be said that it gives the bigger clubs a better chance if they have five substitutes, but the well-being of the players is more important and I would not be against it if the decision were annulled.”
Klopp gave Nathaniel Phillips a Premier League debut at the heart of Liverpool’s defense with Fabinho joining Virgil van Dijk and Joël Matip on the disabled list. The 23-year-old enjoyed a good game, dominating the area and reading his challenges well, and was named player of the match by Jamie Carragher, who knows a thing or two about the role.
Joe Gomez, the more experienced of Liverpool’s two central defenders, was less convincing and guilty of Pablo Fornals’ initial advance. Angelo Ogbonna instigated the opener with a clever pass from center back to Jarrod Bowen, who had time and space to free Aaron Cresswell down the left. Arthur Masuaku took over and crossed into the area where Gomez headed for what should have been a routine punt straight to the Fornals without scoring. The Spanish midfielder punished the slip with a low shot that beat Alisson with the foot of the right post.
With Declan Rice on alert and secured in central midfield, and the visitors moving to 5-4-1 out of possession, Moyes’ team comfortably defended their lead for much of the first half. They had some casualties, especially when Mo Salah sent Sadio Mané to goal with a deft touch. Cresswell smashed the forward into the box, but Friend signaled him to continue play and, after West Ham failed to clear, Jordan Henderson drifted off his feet. Trent Alexander-Arnold, who made his 100th Premier League appearance for his boyhood club at age 22, seized another decent chance at a wall free kick.
Liverpool were beginning to struggle against the well-punched midfield benches and West Ham’s defense when they were awarded a soft penalty shortly before half-time. Curtis Jones crossed into Salah on the right side of the box and Masuaku caught him in the calf while controlling the ball. There was contact and Salah made the most of it. Tellingly, there were no protests from the West Ham side when Friend signaled the spot and Salah fired the kick into the center of Lukasz Fabianski’s goal.
Moyes said: “I don’t think it was a penalty. He threw himself on the ground. Arthur thought the referee was going to do something to get Salah to the ground, but it was the other way around. “
Fornals needed to be more clinical by missing two chances to restore West Ham’s lead early in the second half. They both pleaded, and West Ham was eventually forced to dig deeper by Liverpool’s dominance of possession and the fresh legs of Jota and Shaqiri.
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Fabianski made a smart save to deny Mané after Jota rode the Senegalese international. The ball twisted towards the substitute as goalkeeper, Mané and Ogbonna descended on the rebound and the Portuguese international converted with ease. The VAR, however, reviewed a possible lack of Mané while challenging for the loose ball with Ogbonna and Fabianski. Friend consulted his monitor and agreed. No goal.
But Liverpool, thanks to their substitutes, would not be denied a 52nd win on their record-level undefeated home run. “Diogo is in a good moment and he’s a good player,” Klopp said. “I am very happy that we could make that signing. It’s a good win-win situation – we can help him and he can help us. “
