West Ham United’s five-match unbeaten run came to an end on Wednesday evening with a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.
A first half header from Darwin Nunez proved to be enough for Jurgen Klopp’s side to seal three points, with Hammers forward Jarrod Bowen missing a glorious chance to equalise from the penalty spot on the stroke of half-time, being denied by Alisson from 12 yards out.
As West Ham suffered defeat for the first time since their 1-0 loss to Everton at Goodison Park a month ago, here are some of the major talking points from a narrow defeat to the Reds.
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Undefeated run ends
After a five-game unbeaten run this month that included four wins against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Anderlecht (twice) and Fulham, and a draw at Southampton, West Ham were narrowly beaten. Although at times in the first half, 1-0 would have very much flattered the Irons.
Following early promise shown by David Moyes’ side, Nunez first unleashed a superb effort on the half volley that forced an outstanding Lukasz Fabianski save before heading in at a Kostas Tsimikas cross just minutes later.
From then, Liverpool went full hammer and tongue until West Ham won their penalty. Mohamed Salah came close on three occasions, while other chances were forced to be dealt with, leaving West Ham’s defence well-worked before the game reached its halfway stage.
A flick from Flynn Downes sent Bowen off in the box and the four-time England international positioned himself well to draw a foul out of Joe Gomez, eventually given by VAR. At that time, it felt West Ham’s only way back in the game was if Bowen converted from 12 yards; he did not.
However, in the early phases of the first half, West Ham showed that defensive mistakes were possible in Liverpool’s defence when pressed, which the Hammers made a point of doing more in the second half, setting a precedent that gave everyone hope, even more so when Said Benrahma came off the bench shortly after the hour mark.
Fabianski did have some work to do, but really, many of the late chances were from those in white and orange. First, Gianluca Scamacca attempted a shot on the angle after good work on a counter attack. Benrahma then teased a volley on goal off a looping Declan Rice cross, but Alisson held it well.
The best chance, and the one that led to Moyes falling to the floor in despair, came late on when the ball was bounding around the box, Bowen somehow managed to cut the ball back and Tomas Soucek’s effort from point blank range was denied only by Alisson’s hip.
From the resulting corner, Scamacca blazed a header way over and given the way West Ham played in the final third, they can feel frustrated that they left Anfield empty handed, especially at missing a penalty and Soucek’s chance, that seemed destined to go in.
Jarrod Bowen’s penalty miss
After Rice saw a penalty saved at Nottingham Forest in August, Bowen was made the club’s penalty taker and before kick-off, had done well from 12 yards, netting in home wins over FCSB and Fulham earlier this season.
However, the former Hull City ace found his effort saved by Alisson, a height favouring the home goalkeeper, who only had to guess the right way to be able to save, which he did.
From five penalties this season in all competitions, West Ham scored three, netting both in the Europa Conference League via Bowen and Lanzini, while Bowen has scored in the Premier League, with Rice and Bowen missing from the spot in the league already this term.
In his career, Bowen has scored six out of his nine penalties (66.7%) and has netted a third of his career spot-kicks this season, with a third of his misses coming on Wednesday evening.
West Ham did create chances for themselves, particularly late on, but Bowen’s from 12 yards felt as if it was the one where Moyes’ side really should have found the net.
Lucas Paqueta’s absence
Brazilian star Lucas Paqueta was absent from the squad due to a shoulder injury, a blow to add to the absences of Maxwel Cornet (calf), Nayef Aguerd (ankle) and Craig Dawson (dead leg).
His absence meant that West Ham played in a 4-3-2-1 formation, with Downes partnering Soucek and Rice in midfield and Pablo Fornals joining Bowen and Gianluca Scamaaca in attack.
In his pre-match media, Moyes described Paqueta’s injury as “serious” and remained tight-lipped on the issue after the game. However, on Instagram following the result, Paqueta said that is expecting to be out of training for only two weeks.
While it essentially rules him out featuring against Manchester United in 10 days’ time, it does mean he is set to be back in time to play in West Ham’s final games before the World Cup takes place in Qatar, with Paqueta set to be part of the Brazil squad.
Fortunately, while he will miss Old Trafford, he is set to also miss games in the Europa Conference League against Silkeborg and FCSB, games he was always unlikely to feature heavily in.
A glimpse of the two strikers
Against Southampton on Sunday, Moyes was booed when Michail Antonio replaced Scamacca late on, with fans hoping to see both of them play together late on in search of a winning goal.
This time aiming for an equaliser as opposed to a winner, Antonio came on in place of Downes, with the club’s two recognised strikers playing together for only the second time this season for the final 16 minutes.
There was one moment that saw both link-up on the counter attack. After being picked out by Thilo Kehrer’s pass, Antonio was unmarked on the halfway line and found himself leading a charge. To his right, Scamacca was making a run and Antonio laid it off.
When getting down the right, Scamacca found himself on a tight angle, while Antonio was in a better position. Instead of passing it back, Scamacca went for goal and was nowhere near testing Alisson, leaving Antonio fuming.
The duo have only played 29 minutes together so far in a West Ham shirt, with one normally replacing the other in matches, but for now, it looks a fair way off being a potential strike partnership.
Flynn Downes’ full debut
Paqueta’s absence led to a full league debut for former Swansea City midfielder Downes, playing alongside Rice and Soucek in the heart of midfield.
Considering it was his first start, it came at Anfield and he had just two league minutes to his name before kick-off, he got 74 minutes and gave a performance which pleased many, including Moyes.
He was progressive on the ball, pressed high and almost scored in the first half when latching onto a deflected Aaron Cresswell cross.
For a first league outing that lasted longer than a single minute, there was plenty of positive signs, none more so than praise from his manager, furthering his aims of getting more regular chances in the Premier League in the future.
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