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With about a quarter of this game to go, West Ham won a corner from the right. As he sniffed the dead ball tie, the burgundy and blue jerseys piled up in the penalty area. Jarrod Bowen took his place, ran, and launched a curly cross with his left foot. Fifteen seconds later, Liverpool scored. Game over, handshakes, thanks for having us.
It was Mohamed Salah who delivered the coup de grace, finishing off a scintillating counterattack with his second goal of the match and sealing the points in the process. But really, the story here was of a team shed its inhibitions, learned the lessons of a rotten first half, and resolved to be a little faster, a little braver. Six points in three days from two visits to London have rocked Liverpool, and the title race is back to life.
And as Liverpool circled a tired West Ham in the final minutes, it was also possible to catch a glimpse of something else: a team that for the first time in weeks seems to be really enjoying their football. Curtis Jones had one of his best games in the Liverpool shirt: a direct and restless deft presence in midfield. Trent Alexander-Arnold appears to be slowly and tentatively regaining his form. And if this uneven season has firmly put momentum on the bed as a meaningful concept, perhaps the past few days are a reminder that Liverpool are not as broken or as unsolvable as they have been claimed in recent weeks.
Of course, the black hole in the center back remains a problem, as West Ham’s last consolation goal demonstrated. Jordan Henderson and Nat Phillips made up Liverpool’s twelfth different couple of the season, a list that has repeatedly included Fabinho, Rhys Williams, Joël Matip, a park bench, a bunch of cushions, a copy of Moneyball and the ghost. by Ronnie Whelan. But, aside from the strange uncertain moment of the first half, neither of them were overly concerned.
Later there were more changes, where Sadio Mané was lost due to injury. Liverpool’s usual 4-3-3 had been traded for a loose diamond, with Gini Wijnaldum sitting on top of defense, Xherdan Shaqiri just behind the two forwards of Salah and Divock Origi, and James Milner in a sort of floating midfield role. always offering a pass option. If it was an attempt by Jürgen Klopp to come up with new angles of attack, then it was also based on the kind of jerky movement and sacrificed running, speed of thought and speed of passing, which has been so rare in his players lately. .
And so, in no time, Liverpool had zeroed in on their same familiar grip pattern: everyone was heading for the ball or standing still. At times, the defense and midfield seemed to be participating in a private competition to see who could make the brightest back pass. It was slow, comfortable, predictable. A bit ostentatious and self-indulgent. A bit of La Liga.
In fact, about the only times Liverpool looked dangerous were when they dared to put the ball back and spin West Ham. Shaqiri had a blocked shot after a fly ball over Henderson’s top; Origi slipped just wide after a clever pass from Thiago. But for the most part, Liverpool was going nowhere, and neither was West Ham.
Perhaps it took the halftime break, fermented no doubt with a few select words from Klopp in the locker room, to refocus Liverpool on their goal. They were a much more potent force in the second half: Alexander-Arnold advanced further, moved the ball faster through midfield, and generally seemed more urgent, less content to just sit back and build. Jones replaced Milner in midfield and almost immediately shot down the middle, leaving the ball to his right.
Salah moved and moved, waited for a space to appear and found it emphatically. On the touchline, Milner was still talking to Klopp, perhaps seeking clarification on his replacement. When Salah broke the dead end, both men collapsed in fits of laughter.
For Liverpool, the real breakthrough was yet to come. A Bowen corner kick from the right was directed by Andy Robertson at Alexander-Arnold, who found Shaqiri’s run with a brilliant, quick diagonal. Haring Shaqiri looked up and crossed for the first time on Salah’s path – two passes, roughly 110 yards total, and a beautiful spike to cap off an astonishing breakaway.
Wijnaldum added a late third after a good job from substitute Roberto Firmino, and Liverpool briefly threatened to win. But there was still time for Craig Dawson to chime in when Liverpool went to sleep and let a Bowen corner bounce off his own six-yard box. For Klopp, a reminder of the flaws yet to be corrected, the lapses yet to be eliminated. But a week after having seen a full-blown crisis to the face, they probably would have accepted this.
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