Liverpool match their 63 game unbeaten streak

Liverpool 2 – 1 West Ham

Liverpool: Salah 41’ (pen), Jota 83’West Ham: Fornals 9’

Pre-Match

As Klopp hinted at in pre-game interviews, Nathaniel Phillips
gets his Premier League debut in the defense. Otherwise, Scouse
legend in the making Curtis Jones also joins the starting XI.

First Half

Liverpool start the game off strong, nearly creating a chance in
the first few minutes through Salah and Firmino working
together.

On the other end of the pitch, Phillips and his magnificent
beard pull off their first solid defensive feat, clearing a
dangerous ball into the box for a West Ham corner that rolls out
for a goal kick.

Goal Fornals 9’
– Well, that didn’t start well. Gomez clears a shot with his head,
but it only gets as far as Fornals, who was waiting squarely inside
the box. His shot slides past Alisson into the net.

Liverpool have been the best team since the goal with nothing to
show for it. However, they keep pushing forward. Sadio Mane gets the ball in space, but a clean
tackle by Cresswell knocks it away to Salah. Eventually, after a
scramble, the captain gets the ball and his feet and shoots it
wide. That’s the closest the Reds have gotten so far, but it’s nice
to see some endeavor by the players. Mane, in particular, has
looked flat in this first half up until now.

38 minutes in, Declan Rice fouls Gini Wijnaldum right outside
the box. Enter Trent Alexander-Arnold, who unfortunately sends his
free kick straight into the wall.

GOALLLL!! Salah 41’ – Finally, Liverpool get a break. Salah
earns a penalty for his side when Arthur Masuaku fouls him in the box. He takes
the spot kick himself. It’s right down the middle, but it slides
right past Fabianski. The score is leveled five minutes before
halftime.

Second Half

The game begins more open than I would have liked at the start
of the second half. Liverpool get the first chance through another
Alexander-Arnold free kick that finds Salah’s head. It flied over
the net and harmlessly out of play.

On the other end, however, West Ham force a diving save from
Alisson.

It took a while, but the Reds seem to have tired out their
opponents. Just before Klopp makes his first changes, taking out
Curtis and Firmino in favor of Xherdan Shaqiri and Diogo Jota, is a sustained
attack on Fabianski’s goal. If they keep this up for the remaining
20 minutes, then hopefully a second goal will come for
Liverpool.

Liverpool’s VAR nightmares continue another day. This time, at
least, it was a clear foul from Mane in the middle up to Jota’s
goal that saw it disallowed after a lengthy check. It would be nice
to just score a goal in open play that wasn’t immediately shaved
off in some game soon.

Regardless, the match is level and again, and the Reds have 10
minutes to make something else happen.

GOALLLLL! 83’ Jota – This is Diogo Jota’s world, and we all just
live in it. There’s a good interplay between the subs and Mane that
ends with Shaqiri measuring his pass perfectly for Jota to slot
home.

Final Thoughts

Liverpool match their record of 63 unbeaten home games in a row
for the second time in their history. David Moyes extends his own
personal record of never winning at Anfield with another club.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has
condemned the recent attack on some media houses.

Mohammed who spoke in Lagos on Saturday when he paid a visit to
the media organisations that were attacked in the aftermath of the
EndSARS protest and the Lekki shooting, said any attack on media
houses was an affront on democracy in the country.

“Whoever attacks free press is also attacking democracy because
there can no democracy without a robust and vibrant free press,” he
said.

“That is why this attack must be condemned without any
reservation. Closely those who came here came with a purpose. It
was to shut down the voice of reasoning.

He also reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to
regulating the social media, stressing that the move was to protect
the rights of other Nigerians.

The minister noted that he wasn’t going back on his earlier
assertion that the government would control the media.

“A few people will say look at the minister who just few days
ago was speaking about regulating the social media. What kind of
double speech? He is coming here again to talk about protecting the
media.

“Of course, I don’t see any contradictions in those positions.
Yes, we would protect the free press; we would protect democracy
and the rights of other Nigerians to express themselves. At the
same time, we must protect the rights of others,” he added.

The minister’s remarks come 10 days after the headquarters of
Television Continental (TVC) among other media houses were attacked
by a mob in Lagos.