MY ACCOUNT
Sadio Mane’s close-range finish earned Liverpool a nervy 1-0 win over West Ham as the Reds closed the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City to three points.
West Ham are one of only two teams to have defeated the Reds in all competitions this term and the top-four-chasers put up a real fight in Saturday’s contest at Anfield.
Liverpool opened the scoring through Mane’s 27th-minute goal and that ultimately proved enough for the home side after West Ham wasted a couple of big chances late on.
The Reds’ 11th victory in 12 matches across all competitions, and a seventh on the spin in the league, only increases the pressure on City ahead of Sunday’s derby with Manchester United.
West Ham – without key midfielder Declan Rice – were carved open inside three minutes, only for Lukasz Fabianski to thwart Mohamed Salah when one-on-one.
Michail Antonio twice tested Alisson but it was Liverpool who opened the scoring through Mane, who just about stayed onside to turn in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s wayward shot.
A lively end to the first half saw Aaron Cresswell block Luis Diaz’s shot on the line, a minute before Alexander-Arnold did likewise to deny Pablo Fornals.
The visitors were dealt a blow early in the second period when Jarrod Bowen limped off with an apparent foot injury, but they made life difficult for their opponents.
Manuel Lanzini fired over with just Alisson to beat from eight yards and Antonio could not shoot on target when through on goal in the final 10 minutes as Liverpool held on.
What does it mean? Reds victorious again at fortress Anfield
West Ham prevailed 3-2 in November’s reverse fixture to inflict an early title blow on Liverpool, but the Reds have dropped points in just three of 16 matches since then.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have now lost just one of their last 49 home league matches against the Hammers and their form at Anfield is imperious.
The Reds have won their last seven home league games by an aggregate score of 19-2 and are unbeaten at Anfield in the competition in 18 matches since March 7 last year.
Mane the match-winner
This was far from a vintage win for Liverpool and that was reflected in their winning goal via Mane, who now has 12 league goals for the campaign – one more than last season.
Alexander-Arnold set up that goal and now has 16 assists in all competitions for the Reds this term, which is his best in a single campaign after registering 15 twice before.
Salah frustrated
Against no Premier League side has Salah scored more times against than West Ham (nine), including a goal in all four previous meetings as a Liverpool player at Anfield.
He failed to score from any of his six shots on Saturday, though – only against Stoke City in April 2018 has he had more in a league match for the Reds without netting (seven).
What’s next?
Both sides turn focus to European matters as Liverpool host Inter in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, while West Ham head to Sevilla in the Europa League.
