Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a world-class free-kick for Liverpool against West Ham, but he and Alisson proved to be fatal flaws.
West Ham took Liverpool's unbeaten record from them with a 3-2 victory in the Premier League.
Alisson scored an own goal from a Pablo Fornals' corner. Trent Alexander-Arnold responded with a goal from a free kick. But then West Ham paired a Fornals goal with a Kurt Zouma header to go 3-1 ahead late in the game. Divock Origi came off the bench to score a consolation.
In truth while it was a high-scoring game it wasn't a particularly good game. Two set-piece goals and major errors from Liverpool in defence allowed West Ham to sit deep and play the counter.
For Liverpool, this was a costly result after Chelsea dropped points on Saturday.
Legend:
1 - 2 awful
3 - 4 bad
5 - 6 average
7 - good
8 - very good
9 - exceptional
10 - Christian Eriksen in the Aviva
West Ham
Lukas Fabianski - 5.5
Fabianski had very little to do in this game. He was never going to stop Trent Alexander-Arnold's free kick and Sadio Mane's volley early in the second half was straight at him.
Ben Johnson - 6
Liverpool found space too easily down Johnson's side. He was fortunate that they were unable to capitalize as Andrew Robertson regularly mishit crosses, but the defender couldn't figure out his positioning. The speed of Robertson and Sadio Mane makes it a tough challenge for any fullback.
Johnson offered very little going forward and rarely ventured past the halfway line.
Aaron Cresswell - 6
The former Liverpool youth player was almost sent off early when he slipped over the ball with a rash challenge. His studs connected with Jordan Henderson's knee, but fortunately VAR recognized the inadvertent nature of the contact. Cresswell had a relatively quiet game but he'll be happy with that considering who he was playing against.
Kurt Zouma - 7
With West Ham sitting deep, Zouma was given a head start on most through balls or long passes to Liverpool attackers. His ability to read the game and physical qualities helped him make important interceptions and get into good positions throughout. Zouma scored a towering header in the second half and barely put a foot wong in defence all game.
Craig Dawson (subbed on 21') - 6.5
Dawson was able to hide in the crowd for West Ham when he initially came on. It wasn't until after Liverpool equalized when he was really stretched, on that occasion, he was isolated one-on-one with Sadio Mane in the box and brilliantly stretched out to block the attacker's shot. Dawson was unlucky not to score a header when he nodded a corner onto the crossbar early in the second half.
Declan Rice - 6.5
It was Declan Rice's foul that led to Liverpool's equalizer. He unnecessarily clipped a Liverpool attacker on the edge of the box. But it was also Rice's tackle on the edge of his own box that led to West Ham's second goal. That was the way in which Rice and Tomas Soucek approached the game. They battled hard against Liverpool's attackers while sitting off their midfielders to create a sturdy defensive shape.
Tomas Soucek - 6
Soucek had a very quiet game. He was caught offside once when he made a rare venture forward and then picked up a needless yellow card just before halftime. Rice and Soucek sat very deep, conceding possession to Liverpool's midfielders. As such, they had very little impact in Liverpool's half of the field.
Said Benrahma - 5.5
Benrahma spent most of this game doubling back to contain Mohamed Salah. He did create one chance on a counterattack in the first half, but Jarrod Bowen's first touch let him down on the edge of the box. Benrahma would have hoped to expose Alexander-Arnold and find more space on the counter than he did.
He did force a booking for Alexander-Arnold when he broke past him with speed near the halfway line in the second half.
Pablo Fornals - 7.5
Fornals wasn't credited with West Ham's early goal but the quality of his corner into the six-yard box ultimately created it. Alisson was badly exposed but the pace, placement and trajectory of the cross put him under a lot of pressure. Fornals did excellently to craft out a chance on a high ball over Trent Alexander-Arnold. He threatened the goalkeeper before pulling the ball back. It took a great block from Virgil Van Dijk to prevent the goal.
After threatening on occasion, Fornals eventually scored. West Ham hit Liverpool on the counterattack and Fornals beat Alexander-Arnold in a race into the box. His shot just barely beat Alisson.
Jarrod Bowen - 6
With West Ham sitting deep, Bowen had very little impact in the game early on. He eventually found himself unmarked on the edge of the box with an opportunity to score, but a poor first touch cost him his opportunity. He then had a chance to drive at goal against Van Dijk in space. Van Dijk sat on his left foot, forcing Bowen to his right but the attacker couldn't take the opportunity.
Michail Antonio - 6
Antonio is a very good striker, but any forward who is isolated against Virgil Van Dijk and Joel Matip is in for a frustrating afternoon. He suffered from West Ham taking an early lead as their ambition in attack instantly dissipated instantly. It wasn't until Liverpool equalized that he got a chance. Trent Alexander-Arnold was caught too far upfield and Antonio broke on goal from the halfway line.
He just lost control at the vital moment to prevent a shot on goal. Antonio battled hard but didn't get much success on his own.
Liverpool's Trent Alexander-Arnold celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game from a free-kick during the Premier League match at the London Stadium, London. Picture date: Sunday November 7, 2021.Liverpool
Alisson - 3
The Liverpool goalkeeper rarely makes mistakes but he made a big one early in this game. Pablo Fornals whipped in a dangerous ball into the six-yard box and Alisson inadvertently redirected the ball into his own net. He was also at fault for West Ham's second goal as he should have got a stronger hand on Fornals' strike.
Alisson wasn't completely to blame for West Ham's third goal but he definitely could have done better.
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 4.5
When West Ham committed to keeping everyone deep behind the ball, Alexander-Arnold drifted into midfield or aggressively attacked the box. He had few concerns about defending because of the game script. Alexander-Arnold's first-half goal was as sweetly struck a free-kick as you'll ever see. He was nearly exposed soon after that goal when Antonio got in behind him, but the attacker's heavy touch left Alexander-Arnold off the hook.
Virgil Van Dijk rescued Alexander-Arnold just before halftime when he was lost under a high ball. Fornals broke into the box but Van Dijk blocked the shot that followed. Eventually, the space in behind Alexander-Arnold cost Liverpool as Fornals raced forward to score their second goal.
Apart from the free-kick, it was a bad day for Alexander-Arnold.
Andrew Robertson - 5
Robertson was attacking the West Ham defence from the start of the game. He got to the byline three times in the first 20 minutes, but on each occasion, he delivered an uncharacteristically poor cross. One of those crosses set up the West Ham counterattack that led to their opening goal. Robertson only had one good cross in the game. His attacking threat lessened the more the game wore on.
Kostas Tsimikas suited this game.
Virgil Van Dijk - 7.5
He's not playing with the same speed as he did in previous seasons. But he's just as effective. Van Dijk was not at fault for any of West Ham's goals and excelled at covering counter-attacks in space. He stopped Antonio twice one-on-one in the second half and notably shut down Jarrod Bowen without breaking a sweat.
Joel Matip - 4.5
Matip didn't have any egregious errors and he made some important interceptions. But it wasn't the cleanest game for the center back. He was loose with a couple of clearances and showed poor positioning in space against counterattacks on more than one occasion. One of those occasions came when he stepped forward on Pablo Fornals' goal. Trent Alexander-Arnold wasn't covering in behind him, so Matip couldn't step forward.
Ibrahima Konate might be back in the starting lineup for the next game.
Fabinho - 7
He didn't put a foot wrong in this game while marshaling the area between his midfield and his defence. This was a game that perfectly captures how valuable he is to his team.
Jordan Henderson - 6
Henderson almost created an early goal for Diogo Jota when he broke into the right side of the box and clipped a good cross back to his teammate. Jota's header just carried over the bar but Henderson figured out where the space was in the defence from then on. He repeatedly offered good service to his teammates in the final third, though opportunities weren't always forthcoming as West Ham defended well.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6
He interlinked with Sadio Mane and Andrew Robertson well, but couldn't complete any incisive passes as West Ham sat deep. Considering his quality on the ball, Oxlade-Chamberlain would have expected to contribute more with the amount of possession that he had.
Sadio Mane - 4
Sadio Mane had a couple of opportunities in the first half to break into the West Ham box, but he was repeatedly crowded out. He had one good chance to create a shot on goal inside the box but Craig Dawson made a good block. Mane was very unlucky to not score early in the second half when he broke onto a cross from Andrew Robertson. His volley went straight at Fabianski in the center of the goal.
Mane lost Kurt Zouma for West Ham's third goal. He then missed a wide-open header at the end of the game.
Mohamed Salah - 5
It was a very quiet game for Salah. He got in behind the West Ham defence once in the first half. He should have run in on goal but instead, cut back around Angelo Ogbonna. Aaron Cresswell was able to nip the ball away from him because of that turn. West Ham committed a lot of bodies to Salah, conceding more space to Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Diogo Jota - 4.5
With West Ham playing a low block, Jota couldn't find any space early on. He eventually had an opportunity to score with a header inside the box from a Jordan Henderson cross. The effort drifted just over the bar. That was about the only contribution that Jota had in the game.
Starting Trent Alexander-Arnold isn't worth the risk for Liverpool | John Giles
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