Key Takeaways: Liverpool v West Ham
By Taylor Smith
October 31, 2020, Anfield, Liverpool, UK | Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners after a hard-fought match with West Ham United.
The headlines leading up to this match in the Premier League focused largely on injuries. Virgil van Dijk’s injury has left Herr Klopp with a key player to replace and seemingly everybody who could replace him falling foul of the injury bug.
Speaking about the challenge of replacing van Dijk amidst the fixture pile-up, Klopp told reporters in his pre-match press conference, “I realized long ago that life is a challenge. This is a challenge 100%…Problems are only there to find a solution for. I see the challenge in the situation and I see there’s opportunity.”
“We play football games every three days so this will stay a challenge…We will deal with the situation and make the best of it.”
Likewise, West Ham United are missing the excellent Michail Antonio, who has been in sparkling form since Project Restart scoring 11 goals, the most by any player in that time.
He picked up a hamstring injury in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City and will be sorely missed as West Ham’s most defense-menacing, goal-scoring threat.
To make matters worse for West Ham, he loves a game against Liverpool. He’s faced the Reds 6 times and scored 5 goals.
While the Merseysiders are the better team, injuries notwithstanding, the Hammers are more than capable of beating anybody of their day, something they proved in their highly impressive 3-0 away win over Leicester City, their tremendous 3-3 comeback against Tottenham, and their plucky draw with Manchester City.
Coming into the season, Hammers fans would have been worried that a relegation battle may have been on the cards, but recent performances and results have put those fears to bed for now.
David Moyes has this team playing with an identity and little fear, so much so that a comfortable mid-table finish with faint hopes of Europe seems a more accurate prediction for the remainder of this campaign.
Starting Lineups:
Liverpool Starting XI: Alisson (GK), Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Gomez, Robertson, Henderson(c), Wijnaldum, Jones, Mane, Firmino, Salah
Subs: Adrian, Minamino, Milner, Jota, R. Williams, N. Williams, Shaqiri
West Ham Starting XI: Fabianski (GK), Coufal, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Masuaku, Rice(c), Soucek, Fornals, Bowen, Haller
Subs: Randolph, Diop, Fredericks, Yarmolenko, Snodgrass, Lanzini, Benrahma