Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool now sit just 3 points clear at the top of the Premier League after their second successive draw. With Manchester City and now Tottenham breathing down Liverpool's neck, Klopp's side looked jittery in the match at the London Stadium against West Ham United, which ended 1-1 and their match preparation for the encounter was far from ideal, as Henderson and Wijnaldum joined the injury list, forcing a change to three positions "It's just a fact, it's not an excuse. The preparation for the game was far from being perfect and we still got a point", said Klopp.
As, Milner returned from suspension, there was a first start for Lallana since last October and with a lack of match fitness it seemed unlikely that he would have the legs to provide the link between midfield and attack. West Ham were looking to respond after some abysmal recent performances, but had to do without Arnautovic.
Despite only having 27% possession all night, West Ham created the better chances in the early stages, Javier Hernandez saw a curling effort from 15 yards out go just past the far post and Aaron Cresswell saw his first-time shot from just outside the box go just wide of Alisson's goal. Firmino scuffed an early chance for Liverpool, but then a highly controversial goal saw Liverpool take the lead. With the linesman standing a matter of yards away, he failed to spot Milner being a yard offside as he received the ball from Lallana, before squaring the ball for Mane to slot home in the 22nd minute.
But, West Ham were back on level terms 6 minutes later, a free-kick that picked-out Michail Antonio in the Liverpool area for a low shot that went in off the post. West Ham manager, Manuel Pellegrini, had been furious that Liverpool's goal had been allowed to stand and the Hammer's deserved to be back on level-terms.
Certain aspects of Liverpool's performance on Monday night will give him and their fans cause for concern and some comfort to Man City and Tottenham. Klopp's side are not producing as many chances in the final third and the play keeps breaking-down. Two of the front three, normally so dangerous, seem to have gone quiet. Salah had another largely ineffective game and Firmino was later substituted for Origi after having perhaps his worst game in a Liverpool shirt.
The Liverpool defence also seemed very uncertain and lacking organisation once again, a feature which has continued since the Crystal Palace game at Anfield, on 19th January, on a day when they conceded 3 goals. Time and time again, the Liverpool defence failed to deal corners and free-kicks in a convincing manner, West Ham runners in and around the box were not tracked properly and West Ham's produced a number of chances from them. Matip doesn't deal with the aerial threat and Liverpool need to get Trent Alexander-Arnold back into defence as soon as he is fit. One also wonders whether Klopp will regret letting Clyne leave for Bournemouth. Manuel Pellegrini had his head in his hands after Declan Rice headed wide from 10 yards out after a cross into the box found him completely unmarked. Mane had another chance to score before half-time, but his header from close-range went straight-down the goalkeeper's throat.
Another concern was the nervy and below par performances of some Liverpool players and the early goal seemed to do nothing to settle the team down. They lacked fluency and confidence. Their squad doesn't look big enough, many players seem to be lacking in form. Not surprisingly, Lallana looked off the pace and frequently lost possession. He was noticeably leggy when he was replaced by Shaqiri, after 69 minutes. Ideally, Naby Keita would probably be given more time to find his feet before being selected for the first team. He looked a long way off the pace against the Hammers.
During the second half, West Ham continued to have their chances, but repeatedly failed to hit the target, when they should have scored, otherwise the result could have been worse for Liverpool. Former Liverpool player, Andy Carroll, came on to the field of play for West Ham near the end of the game, to try and exploit the obvious aerial threat the Hammers carried and this increased the anxiety in the Liverpool backline. Carroll's introduction almost led to a goal, after Alisson came rushing out of his goal to head the ball clear, only for it to fall straight to Carroll's feet but he was too slow to react and Van Dijk managed to get a challenge before he could get his shot away.
Liverpool had a few chances to score that were comfortably dealt with by West Ham goalkeeper, Fabianski, until Origi had a golden opportunity to snatch all 3 points. He was clear on goal with only Fabianski to beat, but he shot straight at the keeper. The replays showed that he was actually off-side, but the flag hadn't gone up. It could have been Liverpool's second off-side goal of the night!
All in all, Liverpool produced another unconvincing performance to avoid defeat and West Ham will feel they should have won the game and Manchester City now have the chance to go back to the top of the table when they play Everton on Wednesday night.
Apparently, a 'super computer' has predicted that Liverpool have a 65% chance of winning the Premier League for the first time since 1990 and City a 29% chance of winning back-to-back titles, but on the evidence of Liverpool's recent performances this looks a little generous.
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