JURGEN SCHMÜRGEN
West Ham 2 Liverpool 2
Neither side will be happy with less than a win from today’s early kick off, which in my book always means you have a score draw ahead of you.
There are just a couple of changes from the Palace game, with Areola and Bowen returning to the starting line-up, replacing Fabianski and Ward-Prowse.
The first fifteen minutes offer the kind of fare that could easily have been snatched from a restaurant table in Lanzarotti. Paquetá has distanced himself profoundly from those mid-season performances that had Guardiola and half of Europe drooling. Instead of bankrolling a couple of young hopefuls, his sale may pay for a juke box in the foyer at the stadium.
There is something missing in the Liverpool side, who seem in the first twenty minutes to have lost any interest in ‘winning,’ after their early shout for a penalty is correctly overturned by VAR, as Luis Diaz is shown to have been offside. They otherwise seem somehow burned out. Perhaps it is that syndrome where overpaid sportsmen lose interest in performing when they don’t have a future to consider, or at least not one that includes Jurgen Klopp.
The game kicks into life when a quick corner from Kudus is headed home by Jarrod Bowen, equalling Di Canio’s PL goal tally of 16 from 1999-2000, and reaching twenty for the season. It is also his 200th appearance for the Hammers. Legend. West Ham go in at half-time with the lead.
The second half begins badly for the Hammers with Liverpool responding to some half-time instruction that sees Andy Robinson rifling in a shot that Areola seems to see too late, failing to get down quickly enough to stop its trajectory into the corner of the net.
Fifteen minutes later Gaklo’s speculative shot pinballs its way fortuitously into the back of the West Ham net, finally via Areola after Souček’s deflection. Liverpool have got their mojo back and have turned it around, the bastards.
But there is something about the Moyes legacy that can still kick out a free leg now and again, and Hammers hang on in the game to prevent a Liverpool third.
Eventually the moment comes, and Bowen with a sweet cross from the right over the Liverpool’s defence finds the head of Antonio (‘Bring me the head of ‘Michail Antonio!’) and Hammers are level. Take that! you second class Liverpool imposters!
The Reds make three late changes, one of which, as Klopp brings on Mo Salah, leads to an unsavoury spat between the Egyptian and his departing German boss. Would an Egyptian handbag be preferable to a German one? At least you could barter for it. In any event, Klopp has the last laugh as Salah plays without direction and Liverpool end up having to respect the point.
Klopp crams his post match presser with some frightening bullschitt about how Liverpool were the only team who were ever going to win the game. It makes me relieved to have resisted my nostalgic pang to attend it as it was his last visit to London Stadium as Liverpool manager. He shows himself in the final analysis to be like any other departing manager. A little schadenfreude, some bitterness and a mighty helping of grandiose self-interest. Klopp has had his wings klipped. All that is left for West Ham now is to see off the David Moyes legacy. With three challenging games left, who would confidently predict how many points West Ham can pick up to avoid dropping out of the top half of the table before the season ends?
13 Alphonse Areola, 33 Emerson, 4 Kurt Zouma (captain), 5 Vladimir Coufal, 19 Edson Álvarez, 21 Angelo Ogbonna, 10 Lucas Paquetá, 28 Tomas Souček, 9 Michail Antonio, 14 Mohammed Kudus, 20 Jarrod Bowen
Substitutes: 7 James Ward-Prowse
Goalscorers: Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio
