Liverpool bankrupted all the good fortune they had accrued in the first three games in their 3-0 home loss to West Ham. It was the first victory by the Hammers at Anfield since 1963.
Having benefitted from a number of previous calls, referee Kevin Friend seemed determined to balance the account with an awful display with the whistle. However, Liverpool only had themselves to blame for an abysmal performance that seemed to expose nearly all of the questions and issues the Reds have revealed so far this season.
Here are four findings from the match.
Dreadful Defending
Liverpool looked vulnerable early in all three previous matches. In fact, most of their good fortune regarding disallowed goals has occurred in the initial moments. For a side that looks like first goals will always be critical, conceding early is a legitimate cause for concern.
At a minimum any centre-half has to be relied upon to clear headed balls, neither Martin Skrtel nor Dejan Lovren seemed capable of dealing with headed balls defensively, routinely surrendering additional chances. Normally reliable with his head, Skrtel’s failed clearance combined with Joe Gomez being beat to the ball on the far post led to the first goal in the third minute. Skrtel never really recovered, scrambling the whole afternoon.
Yet, it was in decision making where Liverpool’s defence simply came undone. Dejan Lovren returned to form with a horrendous display, dribbling dangerously around the pitch, never more so than in the 29th minute, leading to the second West Ham goal. After an ill-conceived idea of attempting to break through midfield, giving away possession, moments later his judgment went punished.
Looking desperately indecisive along the touchline, he proved foolishly determined to play out of the back along the byline, only to give the ball away, as well as an open invitation for the visitors to score, where they took full advantage. The second goal all but put the game out of reach.
Even the full-backs were not immune. Gomez returned to Earth, looking more like a teenager, swarmed and struggling. Even Nathaniel Clyne looked mortal, chased defending and deflected crossing.
All the dodgy defending they had overcome, one way or another in the first three matches, materialised all at once in this one.
Anaemic Attack
In almost a flashback of last year’s worst outings, this match featured a lone striker completely isolated in attack. Christian Beneteke traveled nowhere on the pitch without a clutch of defenders barging him in combination. There were some possible penalty appeals, but it took Liverpool 55 minutes to find the Belgian in the box with the ball at his feet for the first time.
The same starting side from the buoyant performance against Arsenal this time lacked imagination, possessed the ball without purpose, and could never get close enough to their lone striker to provide service or threat.
Apart from nearly equalizing in the ninth minute with a cool lash from beyond the box, that caromed off the post, Roberto Firmino offered little of the creative spark that held the promise from last week. It was the closest to scoring the Reds ever got. Fitness aside, handling the rugged physicality of the Premier league looks like the Brazilian’s first major adjustment.
Even Philippe Coutinho struggled to make any genuine impact. West Ham’s deep, compact, and narrow defensive block hampered the midfield magician’s ability to find any lanes for a key pass or shot on target. Of course, his day degenerated further with a very suspect second yellow card that earned a dismissal.
While the second booking was more than questionable, where Coutinho pulled back on a tackle, only to take a hammering as Dimitri Payet crashed dramatically to the deck, Liverpool’s creator had no excuses for picking up the first yellow for dissent at the close of the first half.
Ultimately, the Reds fell behind early and rarely looked threatening and never looked like equalising, let alone winning.
Unanswered Questions
As encouraging and important as the results in the opening three fixtures were for the Reds, weaknesses were always present. Despite three clean sheets, the defence looked dodgy before the trip to the Emirates.
The partnership between Skrtel and Lovren remained an open question with Mamadou Sakho waiting to supply an alternate answer.
The prospect of Skrtel as the reliable centre-half has troubled many supporters, but the Lovren reclamation project has brought the greatest criticism. The best that could be said about the Croatian’s reemergence as a starter was that he had avoided calamity and was beginning to look steady – until today.
The best play defensively had come from the full-backs, both of whom looked like they have been playing in Red for years. However, today West Ham’s tactics marginalised their strengths. This time, the early goal counted, making the Londoners’ road plans much easier and adding pressure on the flanks with speedy counter-attacks, causing problems for Clyne and Gomez.
Still, defensively the Reds had shut down opponents and prompted optimism.
In attack, despite the outlay of striking talent brought into the team, only two goals have been scored. A match-winning worldie from Coutinho and another from Benteke that should have been disallowed are all that the Reds had to before facing the Hammers.
While last week offered the promise of what could be, they still lacked finish. This weekend, there were not even chances to be had for a finish.
It is still early days, of course, but the combination of an early lead and strong tactics strengthened the visitor’s belief that Liverpool lacked cutting edge. West Ham were right.
The gulf between midfield and striker returned to the wideness witnessed at Stoke. The personnel has changed due to injuries, but the product looks similar. No one is close enough to Benteke or breaking into the box in numbers.
Liverpool could very easily have entered this match on four points instead of seven and today they looked like a four=point team still searching for solutions just beyond their current reach. What could have been 10 out of 12 is just seven now with two weeks to think about it.
Long Layoff
Liverpool head into the international break on the heels of their worst performance yet in the new season. Their confidence is undeniably rattled and no opportunity for a quick turnaround remedy are available. Unfortunately, the nightmare of this loss will linger longer.
Old Trafford awaits. Also, Liverpool’s most important player will be forced to sit.
In the mini-season that this four fixtures made, the sun of Saturday morning darkened considerably before evening. Problems against West Ham were largely their own making, but departures and lost training time will complicate redressing this loss and the problems it revealed.
It is only one loss, but losing at home like this burned off a lot of the lustre Liverpool had gleaned out of the gate. Issue were exposed with greater clarity for other clubs to study. Brendan Rodgers has no small task to repair the side’s confidence and the prospect of Manchester United next intensifies the need for him to do so.
Last season, an international break loomed like a hangover early in the season, as did the prospects of limping into an away match against their most hated rival. There is no compelling reason to believe that this season will be a repeat, but the echoes still endure.
Should Daniel Sturridge actually make his targeted return in two weeks, it could counter any gloom with a surge of joy. Nevertheless, the long lost striker cannot be looked at as a savior. All the same, now that karma should be balanced, his reinstatement would be a welcome boost to both the prospect of hope and goals.
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