West Brom frustrate Liverpool: 3 things we learned
Liverpool were forced to settle for a disappointing 0-0 draw against West Brom at Anfield on Saturday. Here are three things we learned.
Liverpool drew 0-0 with West Brom at Anfield on Saturday, despite dominating the vast majority of the match. Here are three takeaways from a frustrating day for Reds.
Referee takes center stage again
Liverpool dominated Everton in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, ultimately dropping points only because the referee awarded a penalty for Dejan Lovren’s push on Dominic Calvert-Lewin late in the second half.
Jurgen Klopp was furious with the decision, which was, at very least, controversial; Lovren was foolish to put a hand on Calvert-Lewin’s back, but it’s impossible to say whether he pushed him with enough force to knock him over.
Regardless, the points were dropped, and the Reds had an opportunity to make amends only three days later with another home match, this one against West Brom. The contest appeared to be following a familiar, frustrating pattern for Liverpool, as they struggled to break down a well-drilled defense.
But they got the slice of luck they presumably felt they deserved late in the second half, when Dominic Solanke bundled in Joe Gomez’s cross. With Solanke celebrating in the corner, however, the referee called the play back for a handball. Replays showed the ball struck Solanke in the hand on its way in, but Klopp will surely feel the officials have cost his side all three points for the second match running.
Rondon gives Baggies extra dimension
West Brom were set up, first and foremost, to keep a clean sheet, but unlike Everton on the weekend, they posed a genuine threat from open play as well. That was primarily due to the performance of Salomon Rondon, whose holdup play against Dejan Lovren and Ragnar Klavan was superb, and always a reliable route up the pitch for the Baggies.
The Venezuelan was heavily involved for the first hour, before drifting out of the game as West Brom seemed to settle for a point. The Baggies were willing to commit numbers forward in support of the target man, but their efforts would have been largely fruitless if not for his touch and strength in possession.
Liverpool have an excellent recent record at Anfield, but there’s a clear blueprint for lesser sides to beat them. Sit deep, and hit them on the counter. That’s easier said than done, of course, but Rondon showed how a powerful striker, comfortable with his back to goal can help a team get in behind the Reds’ initial press.
Their defense certainly deserves a lot of credit, as does defensive midfielder Claudio Yacob, who barely touched the ball in an attacking sense but was a crucial presence in front of his back four, closing down, harrying opponents and blocking shots. But, paradoxically enough, Rondon was the star of an excellent defensive performance.
Next: The best player of all time on every Premier League team
Klopp rotates
Jurgen Klopp was criticized for his team selection in the Merseyside derby on Sunday, when Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino started on the bench. Both were brought back into the side against West Brom, as Klopp opted for what is probably his best available XI, with Loris Karius and Trent Alexander-Arnold in for Simon Mignolet and Joe Gomez, who had knocks.
Regardless, the Fab Four of Coutinho, Firmino, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were hardly fabulous, laboring to break down a well-drilled Baggies defense and squandering their best chance of the game when Firmino opted to shoot from a tight angle instead of passing to Coutinho for an easy finish.
That this team struggled considerably more to break down West Brom than the less heralded group of players that started on the weekend did to break down Everton only complicates the debate surrounding Klopp’s rotation policy. Perhaps the lesson is that he’s got a lot of good midfielders and attackers to choose from, and he trusts them all.
As frustrating as this performance was, that might offer Klopp some small amount of solace as he prepares for a busy holiday schedule that sees Liverpool travel to Bournemouth and Arsenal, before hosting Swansea and Leicester, and then traveling to Burnley on New Year’s Day. The Reds’ results in those five matches will tell us a lot more about how savvy Klopp’s rotation really is.