Given the irritating habit we have of following up signature wins with stinking defeats, it was probably for the best we had last weekend off. The players had time to swagger about a bit in the sun and feel good about themselves following the demolition of Porto, but Klopp then had a week or so to get them ready for West Ham.
It worked out perfectly as the team produced one of their most convincing displays of the season and ran out easy winners. It wasn't the most dazzling or impressive performance we've seen (let's face it. we've been spoiled this season), but in terms of an all around job of dealing with the kind of bottom feeder that often gives us trouble, it was very good and very mature.
I didn’t think West Ham played badly. It’s easy (and enjoyable) to mock Moyes and his record against the top teams, but teams have played worse than West Ham and got results against us this season. He spoke of how hard it is to contain our front three and said that they did it in spells but not enough. He’s right, West Ham didn’t defend badly at all but now that Mané is himself again it’s almost impossible to keep our forwards in check.
It’s the proverbial trying to put your finger in a dyke thing (get your minds out the gutter, you know what I'm talking about). You block one hole and another appears. You might even be able to block the second hole, but then the third busts open and suddenly you’re drowning and having to watch Firmino karate kicking an imaginary Mason Holgate.
Of course West Ham didn’t help themselves by allowing Emre Can to score from a corner. As a manager you’d reluctantly accept getting done by a bit of brilliance from one of the front three, but conceding from a corner against us must almost feel like giving up two goals.
The most surprising thing about that goal was that it was the first of the game, as there had been some very close shaves at both ends prior to that. We had the first clear opening of the game when Firmino got in behind and squared for Mo, who took it beautifully in his stride and sent a shot towards the far corner. Adrian got the faintest of touches on it to turn it onto the inside the post.
Brilliant save that, but not as good as the one by Karius not long after. Arnautovic got away from Matip but had been forced wide and there didn’t appear to be too much danger. He produced a glorious chip though and it looked a goal from the moment it left his boot. I sit right behind that and I was convinced it was a goal, but Karius showed great agility to get a hand on it and divert it onto the bar.
It’s not often that our keepers make saves that you don’t feel they were entitled to make, but that was definitely one of those for me. Had that gone in, Karius couldn’t have been blamed for it because it was a perfectly judged chip that would have just dropped under the bar if he hadn’t gotten a touch on it. Brilliant save, and important too as the game was goalless at that point.
Arnautovic was terrific I thought. He’s a very good player, we knew that already and I liked him at Stoke, but watching him in this game it’s obvious that he’s waaaaay too good for West Ham. He should be playing for a better team and presumably the only reason he isn’t is that throughout his career he’s blown hot and cold.
As he’s gotten older though he’s become more consistent and aside from Hazard and De Bruyne, this was probably the best display from an opposing player at Anfield this season. His problem was he had absolutely fuck all help until Antonio came on. He was fighting a lone battle but he gave our defenders all they could handle until he eventually ran out of gas.
Karius had to make another stop from him not long after. This one was easier and had a bit of ‘camera save’ about it, but it was a good strike and it was moving in the air. It was a really entertaining game at this point. We were brilliant in the first five or ten minutes but then West Ham, or should I say Arnautovic, came right back at us.
We looked sharp though and were passing the ball around with purpose and finding pockets of space to play in. Salah was constantly making diagonal runs across the back of the defence and a couple of times Can went close to picking him out. The full backs were getting forward and it was from a dipping cross from Trent that we won the corner from which we opened the scoring.
Van Dijk had already close from an earlier set-piece when he put a free header straight at the keeper, and all eyes were on him as Salah whipped one in from the right side. It went just narrowly over his head but Big Sexy had stole in behind and he headed in.
The first goal is always important, but as I keep saying, with this team it’s the second that really opens it up because opponents won’t change their style when there’s only one goal in it. A 1-0 half time lead was satisfactory but you always want that early goal after the break just to make things more comfortable, and that’s what we got.
Ox had been quiet in the first half but he exploded into life in the second. He was involved in virtually everything and his strong forward running was opening things up even more for the front three as defenders were having to step out to deal with him. He created the second goal when he showed good strength and quick feet to beat several West Ham players before bundling the ball into the path of Salah as he was falling down. Mo did the rest.
Soon it was 3-0 as Can played a ball over the top that forced Adrian to come out, but Firmino got there first and nicked it off his toe before rolling it into the empty net. While looking the other way, of course. I must be getting old, but I feel like it’s an unnecessary risk and it’s just showboating for the sake of it. Yeah it’s funny, but it won’t be if he ever misses one because of it. Klopp should have a word with him about it, but seeing as this is the third time he's done it I won't hold my breath.
We were rampant at this point and throughout the second half Adrian made three or four saves to keep the score down. Karius meanwhile, had nothing to do until suddenly out of nothing he was beaten. That goal just caught everyone on the hop. I think there were probably two main reasons for it. The first was that Antonio had just come on and was playing in a different position to Lanzini, so there was some confusion as to who was picking him up.
The second was that everyone was so intent on streaming forward that when Can won the ball it wasn’t just the fans watching and expecting it to be another one of those ‘charge of the light brigade’ moments where everyone flies forward. Robertson took off Alberto Moreno style, so when Can needlessly lost the ball he was completely out of it. Antonio ran into the space vacated by Robbo and Van Dijk couldn’t get across in time to prevent the shot.
It went right in the corner and I don’t expect Karius to save that, but his dive just looked a bit weird, didn’t it? I can’t really explain what was wrong with it, just that it looked ungainly. Not his fault though, it was almost all on Can that one.
That goal briefly changed the game. West Ham obviously got a lift from it and were thinking if they could get another we might collapse. The crowd started getting a bit twitchy but the players were fine. For five or ten minutes they altered their usual approach and just took the sting out of West Ham by keeping the ball. It was the kind of maturity we’ve been calling for but haven’t seen too often.
Most of the crowd quickly realised what was happening but there were some who weren’t having it and were demanding more urgency. Can played a sideways pass to Trent when there had been a riskier ball out to the left on. If we were chasing the game you’d take the more progressive option, but we were in ‘slow it down’ mode and Can did the right thing.
I saw Klopp turn around in disgust and thought he was going to launch into one of his regular tirades against the fans who sit behind him. He bit his lip this time, but on this occasion I shared his obvious contempt. We're 3-1 up and needed to just settle things down for a few minutes, and you've got some fans completely losing their shit because the team just wanted to keep the ball for a few minutes. Come on people, fucks sake.
I loved it. It was a sign of the growing maturity of the team. What we did in that ten minute spell after West Ham scored was arguably more significant than all of the great football we played before and after.
We have to learn to be better in the situations when the game goes a bit nuts, so this was an encouraging step. We know how good this team is at most other things so if they can get this side of it sorted we’ll take some stopping.
Having taken the sting out of it we then picked up where we’d left off and had little difficulty carving West Ham open at will. The only thing left to do really was get Sadio a goal, as it always feels bad when two of the forwards have scored and one hasn’t. He missed a great chance after more brilliant play from Ox had teed him up right in the middle of the goal around eight yards out. He was a bit unlucky to be fair, the finish wasn’t bad but he hit the post.
He was gutted about that, you could tell he desperately wanted to get his goal and keep the momentum going from his hat-trick against Porto. Thankfully it came soon after, and what a move that was. Some great football ended with Robertson crossing for Mané to deftly lift the ball over Adrian and in off the post.
We could have scored more but four is fine. Save some for Newcastle next week. I was talking to a mate afterwards and he said he almost feels disappointed these days any time we score less than four. I’ve been thinking the same. Three is my absolute minimum expectation any time our strongest line up is out there, which is mad when you think about it, especially as it doesn't even matter who we are playing.
They score goals for fun so on those rare occasions when they get less than three, it feels like a letdown, even when we win. I’ve thrown this suggestion around a few times in recent months but I’m now prepared to state my firm belief that this is the best team we’ve had since our last title win. They’re not without flaws, but in terms of the overall package compared with other teams we’ve had over the last 27 years, I’d say this is the best we’ve had. It's also pretty young too, which is great as long as we keep hold of everyone.
It’s unfortunate that these lads are competing in an era where Man City are financially doping their way to dominance, because in any other year we’d be right in the thick of a title race. We’re getting better at the things we already excelled at, and we’re also improving on the areas where we are not as strong. Klopp knows what he's doing.
Van Dijk is making a difference to how the team looks in both boxes. We look like we can score from any set-piece at the moment as he seems to get his head on one or two every game. At the other end there’s more of a confident look about the defence and that in turn is helping Karius who has done well recently. He’s still got it all to prove but so far so good since he came back in. Hopefully he can keep it up.
The only real concern I have between now and the end of the season is what would happen if we lost one (or heaven forbid) two of the front three. We can cope with losing anyone else as the squad depth is fine elsewhere. Look at this game for example. Matip came in for Lovren, Can for Hendo and Ox for Wijnaldum. We don’t miss a beat with changes to the back four and midfield.
Milner was fucking ace again and he’s really come into some good form recently. It’s interesting that, because he’d been used pretty sparingly in the first half of the season and maybe that’s partly why he looks so good now. He’s going to be difficult to shift from the team playing the way he is right now.
Ox has been up and down lately but as I said, he was brilliant in the second half of this game. The full backs were terrific too, particularly Robertson who just continues to make himself more of a crowd favourite with every appearance. I love him, he's ace.
So yeah, as long as the front three can stay fit it feels as though the next few months could be really good for us. It’s tight between second and fifth and all those places are up for grabs, but we look the strongest currently. The game at Old Trafford will be huge but before that we need to be setting the record straight against that dogshit Newcastle side next week.
The two points we dropped to them at St James Park has to be in the top three most disappointing things of the season so far, behind the collapse at Arsenal and Adam Lallana’s latest heinous crime against good hair. What, you didn’t think I’d let that pass without comment did you?
Apparently he had posted his new haircut on Instagram earlier in the day (proper Karius behaviour that) but I knew nothing about it until I saw him on the touchline about to come on. “State of that Peaky Blinder looking cunt” I muttered under my breath. The next thought I had was “I hope my mum’s not watching this as she’ll be disgusted”.
I wasn’t wrong either…
Anyway, Star Man is really close between Firmino, Robertson and Milner, but I’m going with Bobby because he’s the fucking man isn’t he? His celebrations are almost as good as his performances these days, and it’s also funny as fuck seeing Mané trying to copy him and failing miserably.
Team: Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Van Dijk, Robertson; Can, Milner, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Salah (Solanke), Firmino (Lallana), Mané (Moreno):
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