Joel Matip scored the winner to help Liverpool produce one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. The two clubs met at the London Stadium after enjoying a recent upswing in results. The match was exciting, but it also exposed the weaknesses that have led to both teams’ mainly unsatisfactory seasons. Liverpool finally prevailed, winning their last three league games, but they went down after an outstanding Lucas Paqueta goal on the 11th minute. After connecting with Michail Antonio, the Brazil midfielder displayed his skill by putting the ball past Alisson.
After Jarrod Bowen’s breakaway goal was disallowed by the video assistant referee (VAR), Matip was able to score the game-winning second goal for the visitors by heading in unguarded from a corner in the 67th minute. Cody Gakpo immediately answered in the 15th minute with his own long-range attempt. However, there was some late drama when the referees in the 88th minute waved down a handball protest against Thiago in the box. Danny Ings struck Thiago with a close-range kick, but as he fell, his arm was extended away from his body.
The decision to award it during a campaign in which the handball interpretation has been in the limelight angered West Ham manager Moyes, who addressed referee Chris Kavanagh after the game. Although Liverpool is now six points outside the top four and only a point behind fifth-placed Aston Villa with a game remaining, Jurgen Klopp said he understood Moyes’ displeasure. With one fewer game played than third-placed Leicester, West Ham maintains their position in 14th place, five points above the relegation zone.
In the opening 10 minutes, Liverpool gave the home team the ball twice in and around their penalty area, and Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson were fortunate not to be penalized. West Ham won this match 3-2 last season. From the outset, it appeared like more goals would be scored. But shortly after, Paqueta was unstoppable. His left-side run-in was graceful, his one-two with Antonio opened up space, and his finish was too strong for Alisson. A third goal in three games would further demonstrate the Brazilian for the Hammers’ talent.
Soon after, though, Gakpo arrowed in a low shot from a distance, proving Liverpool has their own long-range marksman, but Lukasz Fabianski will feel he should have performed better. While playing the holding role, Trent Alexander-Arnold was orchestrating the play for his team while also receiving the easy assist for his quick pass during the buildup. Now that Liverpool was in charge, Fabinho and Jota both missed with their shoots, and Jordan Henderson’s flick-on at the back post narrowly eluded the Reds’ striker.
At the conclusion of the half, West Ham suddenly regained momentum. Antonio was waiting to score when Van Dijk was forced to nudge Said Benrahma’s low cross behind. After Antonio flicked a header wide from the next corner, Paqueta then had a shot from 25 yards stopped just before halftime.They believed they were ahead ten minutes after the restart. Both Bowen’s exquisite finish and Declan Rice’s last-ditch challenge on Jota were key components of the move, but a VAR review revealed that the West Ham winger went just a fraction too soon as he raced onto the through pass.
Liverpool reacted well, with sub-Luis Diaz creating issues and Alexander-Arnold missing a shot. However, a few corners proved to be West Ham’s downfall. Matip compelled a critical block from Fabianski right away. He managed to elude Benrahma and Antonio from the second and made a forceful retreat. West Ham kept posing a danger with their quick transitions, forcing Alisson to sweep at Danny Ings’ feet before Maxwel Cornet missed with a shot off a Rice defense-splitting. But they will regret their tardy handball yell in the future. At the final siren, West Ham supporters booed the referees, confirming that Liverpool had won 11 of their previous 13 matches against West Ham. This victory continued Liverpool’s recent winning streak.
“They’ll probably say something ridiculous like, “He needed to break his fall.” So if you rush at the ball, the tackle is out of control and is all your responsibility. For me, the fact that he rushed for the ball clearly negates the idea of breaking the fall. I believe that to be a penalty kick,” West Ham boss David Moyes said. “The disrespect from VAR, that it wouldn’t have at least suggested to the referee that it could be worthwhile to have a look, is the toughest thing to accept. That tells me that they don’t think that will lead to a decision at all. I’m taken aback. Someone in VAR didn’t know enough about football to realize that this may be close.”
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