Liverpool Move 19 Points Clear Of City
30 January, 2020
English Premier League
Result: West Ham United 0-2 Liverpool
Date: 29 January 2020
Venue: London Stadium
Runaway leaders Liverpool moved 19 points clear at the top of the Premier League table after defeating West Ham United 2-0 on Wednesday evening.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp kept virtually the same team that beat Wolverhampton Wanderers the last time out, with the exception of the injured forward Sadio Mane being replaced by Divock Origi in the line-up.
The sides were enterprising in the early stages and Liverpool came the closest to going ahead in the 24th minute after Andrew Robertson started a move and went clear on the left side but he was denied the opener as his chip over West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was cleared off the line by Diop.
However, Klopp's charges were awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute after Diop had brought down Origi in the box. Mohamed Salah took the responsibility of the spot-kick and sent Fabianski the wrong way from 12-yards out.
The visitors kept their shape defensively in the closing stages of the first stanza, as the Hammers offered no attacking threat in the opening 45 minutes.
The Reds doubled their lead seven minutes after the break when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain raced clear onto Salah's through ball on the counter-attack and struck a low shot past Fabianski.
West Ham nearly pulled a goal back two minutes later after Robert Snodgrass pounced on a bad back pass in the box but his low shot was brilliantly kept out by Alisson.
Moyes' charges were not going down without a fight with 20 minutes remaining, as Rice charged his way towards the box and unleashed a powerful strike but Alisson was on hand to make the save while Trent Alexander-Arnold's attempted clearance hit the upright.
However, the visitors came close to grabbing a third goal on 78 minutes after Salah's first-time shot from Georginio Wijnaldum's pass came off the post, with Fabianski beaten.
Alisson was at his best again in the last six minutes as he pulled off a good save to deny Rice's headed effort from a free-kick as the Reds held on for three points and a clean sheet.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za