On this day: Liverpool put West Ham to the sword
On this day has a funny way of throwing up coincidences and ahead of Monday's meeting, we have a chance to revisit Liverpool and West Ham's clash in 2018.
The pair do battle at Anfield in the final game of round 27 in the Premier League and it is two years to the day since the Reds ran out the 4-1 winners on Merseyside.
While victory on Monday will see Jurgen Klopp’s side move within four wins of sealing the title, this time around it was a triumph that lifted them to third in the table, taking them five points clear of fifth-place Tottenham.
A bright start to the game saw both Mohamed Salah and Marko Arnautovic hit the woodwork but Emre Can got the ball rolling just before the half hour when he nodded home a Salah corner, the German’s strike his team’s 100th of the season in all competitions.
Liverpool pressed and probed and Salah got in on the act after 51 minutes, sliding past Adrian after spirited work by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before Roberto Firmino broke the offside trap, skipped past the goalkeeper and rolled home.
Two minutes later, in an exhilarating period of play, Michail Antonio got one back when he made it 3-1 by firing past Loris Karius, the winger’s fourth goal in five appearances against Liverpool.
Liverpool were not swayed by that, Sadio Mane hitting the post following more excellence by Oxlade-Chamberlain. However, the Senegalese would get his goal.
Earlier in the week, Mane had netted a hat-trick in the last 16 of the Champions League against Porto and made it four goals in two games when converting from Andrew Robertson’s low cross with 13 minutes left.
While West Ham proved game opposition on the afternoon, Liverpool were spectacular and Jurgen Klopp described them as a “joy to watch” when asked afterwards.
Opposite number David Moyes admitted his team had “big problems” deal with the Reds’ attack and his defeat as West Ham boss on February 24, 2018, made it a fourth club with whom he had lost at Anfield.
With previous defeats in L4 while coating Everton, Manchester United and Sunderland, Moyes set an unwanted benchmark and the fact remains he has failed to win during his 15 trips to the stadium during his managerial career.
The Scot is back in charge for a second spell and leads his team into battle on Monday night sat 18th in the table and looking to end a run of seven without a win in all competitions.
Meanwhile, Liverpool have not lost on their own patch in the league since April 2017 and after losing 1-0 to Atletico Madrid last time, will hope to put their visitors to the sword.
