Liverpool drop points at home for the first time this season
Liverpool 1, West Bromwich Albion 1
Liverpool: Sadio Mane 12’ West Bromwich Albion: Semi Ajay
82’
Pre-Match
The task at hand for Liverpool could not be more straightforward
throughout this festive period. They sit top of the table and have
WBA, Newcastle, and Southampton for their next three. All three need to be
wins, and that starts with a tricky opponent in WBA. The manager
has gone strong with the lineup to give the team a maximum chance
at three points. Naby Keita, who played 90 minutes in Liverpool’s
last match against Crystal Palace, missed out on being included in
the lineup because of a “fitness issue” according to Klopp.
First Half
West Brom did not come to play football. Big Sam set up his 10
outfield inside of their own penalty area and begged Liverpool to
destroy them. Sadio Mane opened the scoring in the 12th minute with
a brilliant turn from a Joel Matip pass. The next 30 or so minutes
of the first half was a war of attrition for Liverpool. They
created chances well and pinned back West Brom, but it’s hard to
score goals against 10 defenders. Liverpool had 82% of the
possession. The PL record came in 2012 with Manchester
City having 82.28% possession against QPR. Perhaps the most
interesting thing to happen so far is the whining my dog has done
as she begs to go outside.
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Second Half
The second half started a little more interesting with West Brom
coming out of their shell a bit more because Liverpool had been
sloppy in possession. Worrying signs for the Reds around the 55th
minute as Joel Matip pulls up lame with an apparent groin injury
and was replaced by Rhys Williams. The commentary at half time and
during the second half has been all about how this is a Big Sam
masterclass, and the narrative has been playing into it. Liverpool
just didn’t get into the match at all in the second 45 minutes.
West Brom get their equalizer in the 82nd minute off a corner.
To concede that corner was just awful. Curtis Jones makes a mistake
that leads to Williams having to head it clear and then Liverpool
don’t do well on defending the set piece. Klopp introduces Alex
Oxlade-Chamberlain right after the goal to hopefully spark on the
team to victory.
Divock Origi is the final sub that Klopp uses. The team looked
bright following the equalizer but they weren’t able to put the
ball in the back of the net.
Final Thoughts
You can’t help but be frustrated with this match. It was two
points dropped and Liverpool had every opportunity to put distance
between them and the rest of the table.