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West Ham hosted Liverpool who has been trying to get back to the top of the table after some unexpected results in the league. Liverpool travelled to West Ham with no Sadio Mane. He has a slight injury, so he couldn't make the trip.
Origi got the nod again to start and he got the opportunity to put his team ahead in the 5th minute but he wasted it. It was a tight angle, no doubt but he blasted it over. On the title-winning run of Liverpool last season with the Champions' League win too, he would have buried that. A lot has happened to his confidence but hopefully, he would get better with more run of games.
Wijnaldum also had an audacious effort in the 8th minute but it was over the bar. Liverpool asked most of the questions and West Ham had to back peddle for most of the exchanges. They relied on counter-attacks which still didn't come that often due to the flawless nature of Liverpool on the day.
Robertson had to save a goal-bound effort with a timely header in the 25th minute. Benrahma thought his effort would at least end up at the back of the net but for the timely intervention of Robertson. Liverpool tried to respond almost immediately when Shaqiri had his shot blocked 6 yards out.
At this point, Liverpool was happy to keep the ball and pass it around with ease but in the 42nd minute, West Ham had a chance through Anthonio but his header was in no way a threat to the goalkeeper.
Thiago found Origi in the 44th minute. He stretched but couldn't direct the ball goalward. It was a brilliant effort from Thiago to find Origi. Salah also had his shot saved in the 45th minute and at other time, Origi found Salah but his effort was blocked off.
West Ham should have gone into the break with a goal advantage when Anthonio missed in the box. James Milner had to do a tracking back to rob Anthonio off the ball. It was shocking to see him miss that golden chance.
The first half ended 0-0 with Liverpool thinking of how and where the goal would come from after the break because they certainly didn't look like scoring.
The second half started as the first half ended but Liverpool got their goal in the 57th minute when Alexander Arnold found Jones who in turn found Salah. Salah with some footwork found space to unleash a curling effort to the other side of the post and it was brilliant. The goalkeeper had no chance whatsoever.
Liverpool killed any hope for a comeback in the 68th minute when Alexander Arnold found Shaqiri and he hit a one-time ball across to find Salah. Salah controlled the ball with his right leg only to cheekily score with the left leg with a deft touch. It was a brilliant counter-attacking move and Salah scored with perfection.
In the 84th minute as well, Wijnaldum scored. All hope is gone now for West Ham as Alexander Arnold was at the heart of this one too. He found Firmino who passed to Alex Oxlade Chamberlain who released the ball back to Firmino and Firmino unselfishly found Wijnaldum in the box for the easiest of tap-in. It was an easy goal for Liverpool but brilliant gameplay displayed by a team effort that led to that.
West Ham denied Alisson a clean sheet in the 87th minute when a corner kick was taken and it found Dawson. All he did was to just guide the ball home with precision and power.
The game ended 3-1 and what an important win it must be for Liverpool who would be so determined on closing the gap with the league leader. A loss or a draw would have taken them farther from the laid out objective.
Klopp would sleep easy knowing it was 3 points gathered rather than 2 or 3 points dropped. West Ham can also pride themselves with the flashes of brilliance they have shown against the Champions. One game at a time.
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