It had been 216 days since Liverpool suffered defeat in a competitive game and, on Sunday, they were dealt their first in over seven months in a Premier League clash with West Ham. The Reds' 25-game unbeaten run came to an end, though they played a huge part in a memorable game of football at the London Stadium.
In retrospect, the result was somewhat a fair reflection of the encounter with the Hammers defending wisely and courageously and using their strenght in counter-attacks and set-pieces to devastating effect. Their first reward arrived in the fourth minute as a goalkeeping blunder by Alisson Becker allowed Pablo Fornals' corner-kick to deflect off him into the net. Five minutes later, there were shouts for Aaron Cresswell to be sent off after the left-back brought down Jordan Henderson with a strong tackle.
However, a review by the Video Assistant Referee overruled the possibility of West Ham playing with 10 men although the replays revealed that Cresswell won the ball but followed through into the standing leg of the Liverpool Skipper. Four minutes before the half-time break, Mohamed Salah set-up Trent Alexander-Arnold to score Liverpool's equalizer from a free-kick.
In the 67th-minute, Pablo Fornals got involved once more, this time finishing off a devastating counter-attacking move after Sadio Mane had lost the ball 40 yards away. Former Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma subsequently increased the deficit to two by heading home Jarrod Bowen's corner-kick in the 75th minute. Substitute Divock Origi then reduced the margin by hitting a left-footed shot into the far corner.
The night's famous win saw West Ham moving above Liverpool and into third place. Having accumulated 23 points from 11 Premier League outings, the Hammers are now just three points behind league leaders Chelsea. Below are all the interesting feats attained with the result against the Merseysiders:
-
West Ham manager David Moyes earned his first win in 15 Premier League meetings with Liverpool (D4 L10) across spells with Everton, Man Utd, Sunderland and West Ham. It was also the Hammers' first win in 11 league meetings with the Reds (D2 L8).
-
Liverpool suffered their first defeat in 26 games across all competitions (W18 D7), ending what was their joint-longest unbeaten run since they joined the Football League in 1893. It also ended the last remaining unbeaten record in this season's Premier League.
-
West Ham have accumulated 23 points from their 11 Premier League games this season (W7 D2 L2); only in 1975-76 and 1980-81 (both 24 when adjusted to three points for a win) have they ever had more at this stage of a Football League campaign.
-
Only Daniel Sturridge (10) has scored more Premier League goals as a substitute for Liverpool than Divock Origi (nine).
-
Nine of Kurt Zouma's 10 Premier League goals have been headed (90%), the highest ratio of any player with 10+ goals in the competition's history.
-
Trent Alexander-Arnold's goal was his 45th Premier League goal involvement for Liverpool (nine goals, 36 assists), the joint-most by any defender for the club in the competition, level with John Arne Riise (21 goals, 24 assists).
