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West Ham 3-1 Liverpool: Reds slump to back-to-back defeats against impressive-looking Hammers
Liverpool's defensive frailties took nothing away from an impressive West Ham side, buoyed by Sam Allardyce's new signings
It may be too early to panic just yet – but Liverpool’s post-Suarez era is suffering a seriously stuttering start.
As the Reds returned to domestic action after their first Champions League match in five years, Brendan Rodgers found the juggling routine too tricky to handle in the East End last night.
West Ham’s lightning start – with goals from Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho in the opening seven minutes – proved decisive, despite the tactical flexibility of Rodgers, a thumping strike from Raheem Sterling and some bull-in-a-china-shop commitment from Mario Balotelli.
Morgan Amalfitano secured West Ham’s win late on as Sam Allardyce’s men finally brought their decent away form back home.
The summer signings of Big Sam seem to be settling quicker than those of Rodgers, tasked with the near-impossible task of replacing a world-class match-winner.
Three defeats in their last four League matches mean that Liverpool will go into next Saturday’s Merseyside derby in the bottom half of the table.
And while these are early days, it will be a big ask to engineer a title challenge from here.
Fabio Borini made his first league start for Liverpool in two years as Rodgers shuffled his pack, but Liverpool were caught cold in the chilly East End drizzle and were behind within 75 seconds.
Stewart Downing, up against the manager who jettisoned him from Anfield, pinged over a free-kick from the right and West Ham’s two centre-backs combined, James Tomkins heading back across goal from the far post and Reid nudging over the line.
And Reid was involved again when the Hammers doubled their lead, dispossessing Balotelli and feeding Mark Noble who spread it out wide to Sakho.
The Senegalese forward conjured up a visionary chip, which originally looked like a cross to most people – including panic-stricken keeper Simon Mignolet and even his own team-mate Enner Valencia, who would have been penalised for offside had he succeeded in nicking the goal with a header.
But Sakho had meant it all right and the ball sailed over the Liverpool keeper’s head and into the far corner, for the third goal of his nascent Hammers career. Mignolet had to be alert to tip a swerving 20-yarder from Aaron Cresswell around the post.
And, with Liverpool all over the shop, there were two certainties – that Balotelli would lose his rag and that Rodgers would tinker.
Balotelli has not always been one for chasing down lost causes, but the Italian connected with Adrian as the keeper made a clearance and the pair ended up tussling on the floor before ref Craig Pawson showed yellow cards.
Midway through the first half, Rodgers changed to a back three – sacrificing Javier Manquillo and moving Sterling to right wing-back.
Yet, even from there, it was England’s teenage sensation who brought Liverpool back into the match with a thumping finish into the bottom corner after a Balotelli shot had been charged down by Cresswell.
Dejan Lovren then clashed heads with team-mate Mamadou Sakho and, after a lengthy delay, with the Premier League’s new three-minute rule for concussion cases, the Croatian continued with a bandage around his forehead.
It was end-to-end stuff as the 90 minutes approached – Diafra Sakho narrowly over with another chip, Balotelli cutting inside and almost beating Adrian at his near post.
But, as Liverpool poured bodies forward, Amalfitano sealed the points with his third touch in the 88th minute by slotting home from a Downing pass, after an error from Mamadou Sakho.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/west-ham-3-1-liverpool-reds-4295928#ixzz3DxlhUAHe
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