As West Ham came up just short to the Champions at Anfield, here are five thoughts on the frustrating match this past weekend.
The scoreline suggested a close match, and that is was. West Ham came well-drilled but lacked a bit of quality in the final third. Eventually, the relentless attacking power of Liverpool overwhelmed the Hammers’ defence and the points were gone. Here are five talking points post-match:
1 – Pablo Fornals has kept his place in the starting lineup:
With new signing Said Benrahma deemed match fit by David Moyes, many were asking if Behnrama should be starting. Pablo Fornals most likely would have been the odd man out. Fornals responded by having his second-best performance of the season, according to WhoScored.
A 10th-minute goal was beautifully taken by the Spaniard as he caught Joe Gomez’s clearance off his chest and side-footed the ball off the post past Alisson. Fornals surely has kept his spot in the starting lineup as he now has two goals and two assists so far in this young Premier League season.
2 – Penalty on Salah should have been called – but it was as weak as can be:
Liverpool’s first goal of the match came in the 42nd minute as Mohammed Salah put the ball in the net from the penalty spot. Arthur Masuaku‘s foot made the slightest of contact with the foot of Salah which led the assistant referee to tell Kevin Friend to award a spot-kick.
The combination of the weak contact between the two players and Salah’s theatrical reputation caused many to say West Ham were hard done by the call. I do believe it was a penalty, albeit, the weakest penalty you could possibly call.
While Salah did fall to the ground like he had been shot, Masuaku’s foot did come up and make contact with Salah’s and, by the letter of the law, should have been called a penalty. If Salah doesn’t fall to the ground, however, I’m not sure the penalty is given.
3 – Moyes’ substitution decisions are still head-scratching:
While David Moyes has been praised for West Ham’s performance this season, his substitution decisions have continued to be confusing.
The Scot’s first sub brought on Andriy Yarmolenko for Sebastien Haller. While Yarmolenko has played as a striker for Ukraine, he has proven he is not able to lead the front line in the Premier League. He also played very poorly in the previous match against Manchester City.
Moyes’ next two substitutions put on Manuel Lanzini and Said Benrahma, but both came on during the 89th minute, which way too late for either to make an impact. Moyes simply has either made the wrong substitution or has made the correct one way too late in the game.
4 – West Ham fans have been too hard on Sebastien Haller, but time is running out:
Many fans have criticized Sebastien Haller‘s performance against Liverpool, including some big-time pundits. The club-record signing certainly did not impress at Anfield and fans are starting to see why David Moyes has preferred Michail Antonio to Haller.
That being said, West Ham have simply not utilized the strengths Haller showcased at Eintracht Frankfurt and this was only his first start and/or significant time on the pitch. I do not want to write off Haller just yet and I do believe West Ham fans need to be a little patient with the striker.
But time is running out for the Frenchman and this may be his last chance to prove that he is worth the £45 million pounds West Ham paid for him in 2019. Haller will certainly need to put in more of a shift and have more of an impact while Antonio is out. Otherwise, Haller may permanently find himself on the bench during his time with the club.
5 – Missing Antonio highlights his missing new contract:
As mentioned, Sebastien Haller did not provide a good performance leading the line for the Hammers. The lack of impact he had on the game underlined the importance of Michail Antonio to the West Ham attack.
That, combined with the obvious lack of depth at the striker position, makes it all the more apparent that Michail Antonio is going to be important for West Ham to keep a hold of for the foreseeable future. Therefore, a new contract is necessary for a man that certainly deserves one.
Antonio reportedly wants a new four-year deal. While I do not think West Ham should give him that long of a contract due to his injury history, Antonio certainly deserves a ~20% pay raise and a new two-to-three-year deal. David Sullivan should do this as soon as possible.