Should Jürgen Klopp be asked to name the managers who have caused him most trouble in his career, Sam Allardyce is likely to feature fairly prominently. This was the seventh time the two men have met. Klopp has won twice.
Statistically, this was a massacre. Liverpool had more than three-quarters of possession and more than three times as many shots. One statistic showed that in a first half in which West Bromwich Albion metaphorically hid behind the sofa, the Liverpool captain, Jordan Henderson, played nearly twice as many passes as the entire West Brom team.
And yet the match was drawn and it might have been lost. The lead over Everton is just three points and another Liverpool centre-half, Joel Matip, broke down with injury. This was the third time this season that supporters had been allowed into Anfield, the third time this season that “You’ll Never Walk Alone” had been sung rather than piped through loudspeakers. As the cold, hard evening wore on and it became clear that West Brom would not cave in, anxiety began to spread among the songs.
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Klopp’s frustration was shown in the yellow card he received and the intense conversation he had with Kevin Friend as the referee walked off.
It is easy to dismiss Allardyce as the day-before-yesterday’s man but he was, after all, the last Premier League manager to win at Anfield, albeit in April 2017 when he was in charge of Crystal Palace.
Frankly, West Brom ought to have been beaten out sight before the interval but Liverpool’s wastefulness in front of goal gave him an opportunity. It took until the 51st minute for West Brom to test Alisson with a shot that was straight at the goalkeeper. However, as he chewed gum ferociously behind his mask, Allardyce could hope.
The hope would have grown when, breaking clear from a long punt forward, Karlan Grant shot against Alisson’s boots and then, seven minutes from time, it was realised, naturally enough from a set piece, which along with the up-field punt are classic weapons in the Allardyce armoury. Semi Ajayi headed a corner against the post. It spun and fell back over the line, with a look of horror and surprise painted on Alisson’s face.
Liverpool had seven minutes to salvage a victory that had seemed preordained.
There was one header from Roberto Firmino that Sam Johnstone tipped past the post but otherwise there was nothing. When the West Brom keeper suggested afterwards he had been given very little to do, he was right.
As the game began and the final smears of pink disappeared from the skies over Merseyside, West Brom’s ambitions seemed to stretch no further than defence, and they did not defend especially well.
At one point, 20 minutes in, every one of their outfield players was stretched out on their own 18-yard line and yet they still managed to be outflanked by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson, driving down the wings from the full-back positions.
When West Brom did attempt to break out, they staged counter-attacks without any vestige of support.
One Albion forward, crossing the halfway line with intent, found himself alone and surrounded by red shirts like the famous photograph of Diego Maradona playing Belgium in the 1986 World Cup. However, Karlan Grant is not Maradona and the direction of play once more became a one-way street.
Speaking before the game, Allardyce, a manager who has never endured relegation, explained his strategy for survival in the Premier League. It entailed a clean sheet and a snatched goal on the break. It almost worked.
However, it took a dozen minutes for Big Sam’s flimsy shield wall to break. Sadio Mané took a ball from Matip on his chest and in one movement turned and shot past Johnstone.
There should have been a second. From a similar ball, this time from Henderson, Mané slipped beyond Ajayi and sent a stooping header just wide.
Had Liverpool shown more accuracy – of their first dozen shots the only one on target was the one they scored from – their overwhelming advantage in possession would have been reflected on the scoresheet before the interval. It was not.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3pwWDRt
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