Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool side dropped points for the second consecutive game on Monday night as they drew 1-1 with West Ham at the Olympic Stadium. Following their draw against Leicester City at Anfield, Liverpool were in need of a win to preserve their five-point lead at the top of the table but were left disappointed by a tireless West Ham team.
And it looked as if they would get the three points when Sadio Mane converted a cross from James Milner after 22 minutes played. However, Liverpool were far from their best and conceded just six minutes later. The Reds looked vulnerable from set pieces throughout and West ham restored parity through Michail Antonio.
There were no further goals in the game, meaning Liverpool’s lead at the top of the table is now just three points. In truth, it was a very disappointing performance by Jurgen Klopp’s side. They were poor throughout and it could be argued West Ham actually deserved to prevail. The performance was perhaps expected, though, given how many injuries Liverpool have at the moment.
Joe Gomez, Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum, Dejan Lovren and Trent Alexander-Arnold were all unavailable from the game. That means Klopp had to change his side, with Milner filling in at right-back and Joel Matip, Liverpool’s fourth choice defender, partnering Virgil van Dijk in defence.
Jamie Carragher was not impressed with the performance and he made a bold claim after the game, saying Manchester United currently have a better squad than Liverpool. “I said yesterday Manchester United have a better squad than Liverpool. People may have thought it was a strange thing to say but I think we’re seeing little signs of it,” Carragher said, per the Mirror.
Interesting stuff. United are currently in fifth, 14 points behind Liverpool. But Carragher still thinks that they have more strength in depth than their bitter rivals. Carragher then went on to slate a number of Liverpool’s players.
“On the right back situation, Klopp’s made a mistake letting Clyne go. I know there were a couple of injuries but you don’t need to let him go, keep him there. “At the moment James Milner has played there twice now and watching him you can’t quite believe he played left back so well for so long. He looks like someone completely out of position.
“Keita, who he paid big money for, looked quiet and keeps losing the ball. Firmino doesn’t look himself. Salah we didn’t see anything from tonight. “I think that’s a worry going forward, not in terms of this pressure in the lead, more that when there’s a few injuries in different positions it doesn’t look like that solid Liverpool side we’ve seen for the last few weeks.”