West Ham bounced back from last week’s home defeat by hammering a tepid Liverpool side 3-0 at Anfield overnight. The Reds were utterly toothless in attack, and Slaven Bilic’s men decimated their tentative defensive line on the counter.
Outside90’s Evan Morgan Grahame takes a look at the major talking points coming out of the first West Ham victory at Anfield since the 1960s.
Kouyate’s swinging role was vital.
The Senegalese certainly is a boisterous, leggy force to be reckoned with. Here, in a swinging role that encapsulated marking Christian Benteke during long balls, as well as leading the break by dribbling past three Liverpool defenders, Cheikhou Kouyate seemed to be everywhere in this match. His physical virtues are Viera-esque and he has arguably become West Ham’s most important player. With Pedro Obiang and Mark Noble acting diligently behind him, and Dimitri Payet ahead, Kouyate was free to join both causes when required. Lucas and Can were bypassed by his lanky muscle and Liverpool seemed only able to stop him with fouls.
An excellent response after last week’s calamity.
James Tomkins came in for the suspended Carl Jenkinson, and immediately breathed an air of calm throughout the West Ham defence. He deferred to Payet and Lanzini when it came to attacking, but his defending was exemplary – twice in the first half he coolly chested and headed back to Darren Randolph when defending crosses. Gabriel Ogbonna, substituted after half an hour against Bournemouth, was given the privilege of finishing the match here, both he and Winston Reid were superb. Expecting defenders to defend might seem reasonable, but, keeping in mind the comedy of errors that was Bilic’s back line last week against Bournemouth, this was a highly impressive response.
Lovren’s unenviable habit for errors was costly
An ill-advised step over was a preview to the goal-causing error that followed a few minutes later. Dejan Lovren is a player, in spite of Liverpool’s strong defensive start to the season, that seems always to ‘have a mistake in him’, certainly Lyon fans will remember this unfortunate trait with anguish. Lovren’s reputation had hardly been enhanced after his first season at Liverpool, and this match further dampened it. His error led to West Ham’s crucial second goal, a cushion they rode out the match on. He had been excellent so far this season, but was terrible on his home turf last night. This inconsistency is nothing new, and has made a highly unwelcome return.
Rodgers hurt his team with tactical blunders.
When Phillipe Coutinho starts as a nominal left-winger, width on that flank will be fleeting. The Brazilian is loathe to hug any touchline, no matter how well-manicured, so the full back on his side has to make up for this – yet young Englishman Joe Gomez is right-footed. He was poor in the first-half, blunted in attack and unsure in defence. It was from his flank that West Ham’s goal came, though Lovren’s error was certainly more to blame for it.
Rodgers switched to a three-at-the-back system, moving Gomez to right-centre-back, and introducing Alberto Moreno to replace him on the left, but Liverpool were 2-0 down by this time. Moreno tried to get involved immediately, and the hosts attempted to shuffle play down his wing with some success. But the damage that had been done was too severe, and Coutinho’s red card ended their chances of a comeback.
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James Milner and Emre Can cannot be relied upon to provide telling creativity.
When James Milner screwed a shot wide mid-way through the second-half he turned away, ashen-faced and clutching at his shirt in frustration. It was the first time he had really been involved in anything remotely threatening in the West Ham defensive third. Milner made no passes from inside the West Ham box, and only one completed pass that traveled into it. As for Emre Can, he was not seen while Liverpool were attacking, nor while they were defending the subsequent West Ham counter-attacks (he won only one tackle all match).
When Phillipe Coutinho was sent off for a second bookable offence, Liverpool’s chances were effectively ended – beyond the Brazilian, they have no one who can break down an organised defence. When the first attacking substitution made is the introduction of a defender, and the second Danny Ings, there is a serious creative gap present. On this evidence, Can and Milner not only cannot fill it, they are dwarfed by it.
Bilic’s side must reel in their ill-discipline.
For the Hammers, six red cards in 10 matches is an atrocious disciplinary record, no matter how you look at it. Mark Noble was given a bizarre straight red card here by Kevin Friend, a decision that will almost certainly be rescinded. Noble won the ball cleanly, without showing his studs, and West Ham had already been given a free kick. Confusion abounded after the referee’s decision here, and the match generally was a parade of yellow and red. But clearly Bilic must ensure his side are less reckless in the future, because the bans that come standard with the early dismissal are most damaging indeed.
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