Liverpool drops points at West Ham, leaving Premier League title race wide open yet again
The gap between Liverpool and Manchester City atop the English Premier League title race now stands at three points after the Reds settled for a 1-1 tie Monday away to West Ham United, which came back from an early deficit thanks to winger Michail Antonio’s cracking first half goal:
The point was no less than the Hammers deserved. Despite the fact that West Ham conceded almost three quarters of the possession — and almost 80 percent in the second half as Liverpool desperately searched for the winner — for much of the contest the home team played with a dangerous edge that was strangely absent from the league-leading visitors.
The Hammers outshot Liverpool despite barely having the ball, both in the first half and overall. And in the latest reminder that the Premier League can’t start using the video assistant referee system soon enough (VAR will only arrive in time for the start of next season), television replays showed that Sadio Mane’s 22nd-minute opener shouldn’t have counted because James Milner was offside:
The hosts could’ve felt aggrieved. Instead it only took the Hammers a few minutes to respond, and the teams went into halftime knotted at one.
Mohamed Salah tried his best to restore Liverpool’s advantage after the break. The Reds talisman came alive midway through the second stanza as West Ham began to tire, finding the ball in good positions around the area and getting off a pair of shots that on a different day might have gone in. Instead, Salah fired high of the target and then saw his curling left-foot effort well saved by veteran goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
Liverpool didn’t get any closer, though. Jurgen Klopp’s side did have a penalty shout fall on deaf ears earlier, when Adam Lallana’s cross into the box hit the hand of defender Angelo Ogbonna from point blank range. It would’ve been an incredibly harsh call, and it correctly wasn’t given.
Meantime, West Ham had chances to steal all three points. The best opportunity came off a counterattack with about 20 minutes to go, when Robert Snodgrass tore down the left wing at London Stadium. The ball ended up at the feet of Mark Noble, who with a clear look at goal criminally fired over Liverpool backstop Alisson’s crossbar. Then in stoppage time, Alisson’s giveaway to former Reds striker Andy Carroll could’ve gone down as an unforgettable gaffe had Virgil van Dijk not quickly intervened.
But again, West Ham fully deserved its point. As for Liverpool, the result means it might be in second place by kickoff of the next fixture, with City having a chance to go top against Everton on Wednesday. If the Reds fail to win their first English top-flight title in 30 years, Monday’s slip-up may well come back to haunt them.
Doug McIntyre covers soccer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
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