Liverpool 2-1 West Ham United: 5 talking points as Mo Salah and Diogo Jota seal comeback for the Reds | Premier League 2020-21
Liverpool secured yet another Premier League comeback at Anfield as they beat West Ham United 2-1 on Saturday evening.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota in either half put the reigning champions at the top of the league standings for the first time this season, albeit temporarily.
West Ham United proved to be the better side in the first half, despite only having a quarter of the possession, and took a well-deserved lead in the tenth minute through Pablo Fornals. The Spaniard kept his cool and finished off a sublime move after the initial cross was headed away by Joe Gomez straight into Fornal's path.
The hosts began tightening the screws after the half-hour mark and started drawing a lot of fouls in dangerous positions. Arthur Masuaku finally cracked under the pressure and allowed Mo Salah to make the most of his poor challenge to earn a penalty in the 42nd minute.
The Egyptian winger drilled the penalty right into the middle and pulled the hosts level just before the half-time whistle. In the second half, at least until Diogo Jota's arrival on the pitch, the game remained pretty balanced, with both the clubs offering little threat going forward.
Jota then brought a lot of energy to the final third and combined effectively with Xherdan Shaqiri, who came on the pitch in the 71st minute. The Portuguese forward got down to business just six minutes later as he appeared to give the Reds the lead. However, the goal was denied by a lengthy VAR check after it was determined that Sadio Mane had fouled the goalkeeper in the build-up.
The substitutes combined really well in the 85th minute, with Shaqiri finding Jota with an exquisite pass and the former Wolves man slotting the ball confidently into the bottom-left corner.
We take a look at the five talking points from the game as Jurgen Klopp's men came back from behind to maintain their unbeaten run at Anfield.
#5 Liverpool allowed West Ham wing-backs to send in plenty of crosses in the first half
In the first half, the West Ham wing-backs dominated the highly decorated full-backs of Liverpool, with Arthur Masuaku getting the drop on Trent Alexander-Arnold on multiple occasions and Vladimir Coufal not allowing Andrew Robertson a lot of space to get into dangerous positions on the left flank.
Liverpool defenders did not close down on West Ham players in the midfield in time and allowed Fornals and Jarrod Bowen to pick out the wing-backs at will. It was Masuaku's cross that led to West Ham's opener after he was left open on the left flank. Even in the second half, Masuaku threatened on a couple of occasions early on.
The Reds, therefore, need to focus on how to balance the defensive duties of Alexander-Arnold and Robertson, given their attacking mindset.
#4 Anfield is well and truly a fortress for Liverpool
Liverpool's 2-1 win over West Ham was their 29th win in their last 30 Premier League fixtures at Anfield and was also the third consecutive game in which they came back from behind to record a victory.
The Reds have now gone 63 games unbeaten at home, equalling the club record set by Bob Paisley's Liverpool side between 1978 and 1980. Only Chelsea (86 games ending in 2008) have ever enjoyed a longer unbeaten home run in English top-flight history.
Liverpool's next home game is scheduled for 21 November when they face a high-flying Leicester City side. They will need to be on their A-game to break their record for most consecutive unbeaten games at home.