Digging Deeper Into Liverpool’s Frustrating Draw With West Brom

We we take a closer look at some of the whys and hows of the
match as the Reds dropped points against West Brom

That was frustrating. Liverpool absolutely dominated the first
half, playing entirely in the West Brom half. Despite that,
Liverpool only managed to get one shot on goal, a sumptuous take by
Sadio Mane that nestled into the net. The second half was a much
more open affair, with West Brom finally coming out of their shell
to chase the game, with the Baggies ending up getting the better of
the chances. Unfortunately, an unforced error led to a corner for
West Brom, and they got a fortuitous bounce off the post and into
the net for the equalizer.

Join us as we try and separate narrative from reality of the
match up and how it all went down in the end.

Winners

Sadio ManeThe Senegalese striker was a
scintillating force the entire first half. His darting runs into
the box caused a lot of problems for the West Brom defense, and he
got his goal just 12 minutes into the game. He made an intelligent
run to split the center backs (with great runs from Georgino
Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino as well), took a ball down off his
chest with perfect control before sliding his shot past the hapless
keeper. Mane is now on 69 goals (nice) for his Liverpool career,
tying him for 5th on the club’s Premier League list.

Andrew RobertsonYet again, Robertson was flying
up and down the left flank, providing a variety of delicious
crosses that flashed across the face of goal. Robbo’s consistency
this season has been a god send after the rest of the defense has
been in flux.

Losers

Injury ReduxBefore kickoff, it was announced
the Naby Keita was out with yet another “fitness issue”, presumably
another soft tissue injury. And then, in the second half, Joel
Matip went down holding his groin after a rather innocuous
sequence. He was subbed off and immediately went down the tunnel.
These two players, when fit, have been very good. The problem is
they have not seemed to be able to stay fit for more than a few
games at a time.

Mohamed SalahLook, the guy leads the league
with 13 goals this season. It’s hard to argue with that. But
outside of scoring a couple bangers after coming on against Crystal
Palace when up 5-0, Salah has just not looked up to his admittedly
high standard for a little while now. He was again frustrated
today, dropping deep and wide to get on the ball against a packed
in West Brom defense. He struggled to beat defenders on the dribble
for most of the game, and didn’t manage to get any of his 3 shots
on target.

Getting Allardyce’dIn the US (and probably
elsewhere), the broadcast would not stop mentioning Sam Allardyce
and his ability to keep teams from getting relegated. Read, keep
everyone behind the ball and hope for a set piece goal. Well, the
narrative gods came through for Big Sam. Despite the early goal,
Liverpool only manage three shots on target all game, getting
blocked out by the mass of bodies in and around the box. The late
goal was a gut punch after leading for so long, and controlling
much of the game.

Kevin FriendThis space left intentionally
blank so I don’t get fined

From the Manager

“We played around, crossed the ball and instead of moving we
didn’t switch. It is not a game we will talk about in 20 years but
it is a game we have to play and we didn’t play as we could.”

-Jurgen Klopp

What Happens Next

Like everyone else in the Premier League, Liverpool have a quick
turnaround during the festive fixtures. They will head to Newcastle
on Wednesday, still atop the Premier League table no matter what
happens in the interim.