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Morgan Amalfitano completes frantic West Ham victory against Liverpool Morgan Amalfitano completes frantic West Ham victory against Liverpool
(about 2 hours later)
Liverpool’s period of adjustment continues to prove painful. This was a third league defeat in four, a game effectively surrendered in a frenetic first seven minutes when West Ham had been rampant as an attacking force and the visitors merely dazed and confused. Liverpool always knew they would face a period of adjustment this term, though they could not have envisaged it proving quite this painful. A third league defeat in four games has left them stewing well off the early pace, this game surrendered in its frenetic first seven minutes when West Ham United were rampant and the visitors merely dazed and confused.
The blur of tactical tweaks and substitutions thereafter never struck upon the correct blend to recover parity. If this squad is still becoming accustomed to each other’s foibles, then the actual team’s constant shape-shifting can leave them looking dizzied at times. The blur of tactical tweaks and substitutions thereafter hinted at a riposte for a while but Liverpool never struck upon the correct blend. In truth, if this revamped squad are still becoming accustomed to each other’s foibles then the actual team’s constant shape-shifting even within games can leave them looking dizzied at times. A troubling injury list, the raised expectations from last term, a more onerous schedule incorporating Champions League football and the disruption caused by Luis Suárez’s departure are all mitigating circumstances of sorts, but here they were eclipsed by West Ham’s energy.
It was West Ham’s energy which held sway, with their resistance admirable once Liverpool’s desperation had whipped up late pressure and a fine third goal guided in by Morgan Amalfitano in the dying moments. Sam Allardyce fights a constant battle for acceptance in these parts, but this was an eye-catching victory to cherish, and only this club’s third in 23 league meetings with Liverpool. His own recruits are propelling his team, while Liverpool’s still strive to adapt. It was December before Brendan Rodgers’ side lost a third league game last term. Life is proving more sobering this time around. It had been at its most devastating in the opening seven minutes, but it was retained to the final exchanges on the counterattack. The final whistle was beckoning when Mamadou Sakho stretched and misdirected a header back in-field for the excellent Stewart Downing to collect. His pass inside Steven Gerrard’s lunge and out of reach of Martin Skrtel was perfect for Morgan Amalfitano, whose crisp first-time finish across Simon Mignolet confirmed the hosts’ deserved success. It was December before Brendan Rodgers’ side lost a third league game last term. Life is proving far more sobering this time.
This contest had been chaotic and unpredictable from the outset. West Ham, a team whose ambition has so often been choked by a miserable recent home record – they have won here only twice since February – had torn into their visitors from the kick-off, subjecting Liverpool to the kind of frantic early attacks more normally mustered by Rodgers’ side. West Ham were rewarded twice in the opening seven minutes, with the visitors panicked and powerless to resist. The goal thrashed through a clutter of bodies from the edge of the penalty area by Raheem Sterling, after Aaron Cresswell had blocked from Mario Balotelli, offered them a route back into the contest that had seemed implausible up to then. There is uncertainty in virtually all their play at present, with the forward line still seeking to tap in to Mario Balotelli’s qualities in the absence of both Suárez and the injured Daniel Sturridge, their midfield too often overrun and the defence still rather makeshift in its composition. Goals are even being shipped at set pieces these days, a reflection that the clear physical presence they possess across their back line is not providing authority in the air. The manner in which James Tomkins was able to amble away from the ponderous Skrtel and above Jordan Henderson to nod Downing’s free-kick back across goal 80 seconds in summed that up, with Winston Reid bundling the loose ball through Dejan Lovren on the line.
Even so, Liverpool’s rejigged rearguard was so porous that only Simon Mignolet’s saves from Enner Valencia and Cresswell kept Liverpool afloat before the break. West Ham appeared revitalised, their lineup so reinforced in a productive transfer window and their energy irrepressible at times. Their ascendance was established in midfield where Alex Song and Cheikhou Kouyaté provided the muscle to complement Mark Noble’s busy industry. Stewart Downing operated at the tip of their diamond, looking every bit the player Liverpool had once considered worth £20m when prising from Aston Villa, while Valencia and Diafra Sakho split, galloped down the channels and stretched frazzled opponents. That was the first reward of a frantic start, a goal to settle the home side’s nerves given they have choked regularly in this arena in recent times with only two previous victories since February, and West Ham duly threatened to run riot. Their ascendance was established in the centre, where Alex Song and Cheikhou Kouyaté provided the muscle to complement Mark Noble’s busy industry. Downing operated at the tip of their diamond, looking every bit the player Liverpool had once considered worth £20m when prising him from Aston Villa, while Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho split, galloped into the channels and stretched frazzled opponents. The latter’s second was glorious, a delicate and deliberate chip arcing over Mignolet after Alberto Moreno had failed to summon a challenge.
The latter’s goal had been glorious, a delicate and deliberate chip arcing over Mignolet after Alberto Moreno had failed to summon a challenge. By then the hosts’ lead was already established after Downing’s free-kick beyond the far post was nodded back by James Tomkins for Winston Reid to tap in from close range. The defending at both concessions, with Martin Skrtel so ponderous on his first appearance since the loss at Manchester City last month, was horribly slack, with Liverpool scorched by West Ham’s intent. Early indications are that West Ham have struck gold in the market this summer, with Allardyce even suggesting this team are “capable of going as far” as his Bolton side who regularly competed for European football. “Diafra’s come in a bit under the radar because Enner Valencia had such a fantastic World Cup,” he said. “But he scored 20 goals to help Metz win the French second division last year. The energy they’ve got, in and out of possession, terrorised their back four today. Kouyaté loves life, loves football, loves being in every day and he looks like being a fine players for us. We have nine new players, it’s early in the season, and yet they’ve hit the ground running and are performing very well at this level.”
Javier Manquillo’s departure midway through the first half, a tactical switch to three at the back, felt like a mercy even if Sterling’s immediate reward hinted at a masterstroke. Adaptation is proving more problematic for Liverpool’s numerous new personnel, with the team’s early lethargy in the face of such urgent West Ham pressing costing them dear. There was to be no prolonged recovery. The menacing Raheem Sterling, the only visiting forward to offer a display worthy of his reputation, had thrashed in from the edge of the area after Aaron Cresswell blocked Balotelli’s attempt. But, having reverted to a back three and then introduced Adam Lallana at the interval to flood midfield, Liverpool could find no way through.
Adam Lallana was introduced at the interval for the ineffective Lucas Leiva, with the onus on Liverpool to reimpose some order on the occasion, and there was certainly more swagger to their approach play thereafter, even if anxiety in the final pass or shot tended to undermine them at the last. The nearest they came were a Balotelli snapshot and a close-range Mamadou Sakho header but West Ham would not wilt. Amalfitano’s late reward confirmed only the London club’s third win in 23 league meetings with Liverpool. “We know we weren’t at our level,” said Rodgers. “We know we have to do better.
Sterling was a menace whether running from wide or through the centre. Balotelli, booked for an earlier foul and altercation with Adrián, forced the goalkeeper into a sharp save at his near-post while Fabio Borini was marginally off target as he sought to cap off Moreno’s twisting run, then saw Adrián spill a skimmed shot from distance. The urgency was all Liverpudlian even if the home side retained bite on the break. “We were brilliant last season. But I would say that, at this point last season, we weren’t playing to the level we were in the last three or four months of the campaign. People were asking me whether we’d score enough and we finished the season with 101 goals. We’ve got a bit of work to do, we know we weren’t at our level. We’ll go away and reflect honestly, and we know we have to be better.”
They might have pilfered a third earlier than they did, courtesy of Valencia’s pace or Kouyaté’s leggy presence, before retreating into their shell to weather the late storm. Yet that offered little more than a point-blank header from Mamadou Sakho which was caught by Adrián. In truth, only Sterling of the visitors’ forward ranks could truly claim to have conjured a display worthy of his talent and there was more pain to endure before the end. When Sakho fluffed defensive duties with a misplaced header, Downing collected and slipped Amalfitano beyond Skrtel and the French midfielder guided his finish accurately beyond Mignolet. Middlesbrough await in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday before Saturday’s Merseyside derby offers another daunting test. There is no time for Liverpool to catch their breath at present. They can add that, too, to their list of problems.