LFC Crash Out Of FA Cup 2-3 Against WBA

Sports - Football - FA Cup - LFC 2:3 WBA

Liverpool crashed out of the FA Cup falling 2-3 against West Brom and ending their 19-game unbeaten run at Anfield with the video assistant referee (VAR) at the centre of the attention in the late kick-off Saturday evening. 

It was a frantic first half, Roberto Firmino chipping in the opener for the Reds from close range after just five minutes, before Jay Rodriguez thumped in the equaliser just 71 seconds later.

Four minutes after that, the visitors were ahead thanks to Rodriguez again, the former Burnley forward slotting home and Albion 1-2 up, Liverpool just watching. What is defending again?

With just under twenty minutes gone, Gareth Barry thought he had made it 1-3 off Craig Dawson's through-ball, only to be disallowed eventually for offside confirmed by the VAR Andre Marriner. Close call.

Halfway through the first half, Mohamed Salah was brought down in the box by Jake Livermore, referee Craig Pawson ignored the appeal, for the VAR to cancel his decision. Another close call but correct.

It was the first time a referee had referred to the new technology to make a final decision correcting the official's first call, it took over four minutes, Barry was booked in the process for his protests.

And after all that, Firmino missed the spot kick, his right-footed shot hitting the cross-bar.

Alan Pardew was forced to make two changes before the break due to injury, losing Kieran Gibbs and Hal Robson-Kanu, replacing them with Ahmed Hegazi and Matt Phillips respectively.

But the changes did not deplete the Baggies' game, quite the opposite, they stayed on top, confusing and destroying any kind of organisation and threat by the home side.

The VAR was called for a third time before the break, Rodriguez in an offside position when Dawson's cross-shot went in off Joel Matip, but was deemed not to be interfering with play, the own goal stood, 1-3.

It was a weird back-heel clearance attempt by the Red defender, keeper Simon Mignolet not exactly strengthening his case of his position in the team with an oblivious display, his defensive colleagues not much better though.

Liverpool conceded three goals in consecutive home games for the first time since January 2007, West Brom the first away team to score three first half goals at Anfield since Real Madrid in October 2014.

Jürgen Klopp looked surprisingly calm.

The second half was less frantic, more settled, Liverpool dominating with chances and possession, but West Brom never out of control.

The visitors' stopper Ben Foster kept strong, denying substitutes James Milner and Danny Ings and defender Virgil van Dijk late on.

The stats show who was doing their job: Mignolet 0-6 Foster in saves made.

Salah did pull one back for the home side with just over ten minutes to go, becoming only the fourth LFC player this Millenium to hit 25 goals after Michael Owen, Fernando Torres and Luis Suárez. Even in Daniel Sturridge's best season, he only scored 24. And it's only January.

That's the only positive-ish stat of the match, even Klopp conceded the Reds were just not good enough and West Brom deserved to win, not blaming the referee nor VAR as other managers would have loved to place the blame, that's for sure.

How quick the form has crumbled to bits for the German's side, after the ultimate high of beating the league leaders Manchester City, to losing against the bottom side Swansea and then this, another chance of silverware out of the window.

Next, the Reds travel to Huddersfield on Tuesday, who will dare to predict the result? How good or how bad can it get for the board to make changes? To buy? To invest more? What is consistency?!

If you want more, you have to do more!!!

Liverpool Goals: Firmino 5' & Salah 78'.

West Brom Goals: Rodriguez 7' & 11' & Matip OG 45'+2'.

Liverpool Team: 22 Mignolet; 18 Moreno, 4 van Dijk, 32 Matip, 66 Alexander-Arnold; 5 Wijnaldum, 23 Can (booked 61') (7 Milner 65'), 21 Oxlade-Chamberlain (28 Ings 65'); 19 Mané (14 Henderson 65'), 9 Firmino, 11 Salah. 4-3-3
Subs not used: 6 Lovren, 12 Gomez, 29 Solanke, 52 Ward.

West Brom Team: 1 Foster; 3 Gibbs (26 Hegazi 37' (booked 85')), 6 Evans, 25 Dawson (booked 83'), 2 Nyom; 11 Brunt, 20 Krychowiak, 18 Barry (booked 26') (5 Yacob 71'), 8 Livermore; 19 Rodriguez, 4 Robson-Kanu (10 Phillips 39'). 4-4-2
Subs not used: 9 Rondón, 13 Myhill, 14 McClean, 17 Burke.

HT Stats: LFC 1-3 WBA
Possession: 65%-35%
Shots: 12-5
On target: 3-2
Corners: 2-1
Fouls: 2-4
Yellow cards: 0-1

FT Stats: LFC 2-3 WBA
Possession: 69%-31%
Shots: 23-8
On target: 8-3
Corners: 6-2
Fouls: 5-9
Yellow cards: 1-3

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Jay Rodriguez
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,342

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Sky Sports app, Twitter and beIN sport live match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 23

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 23

The 23rd week of the Premier League football action saw:

31 goals - most by West Ham, Tottenham & Liverpool = 4 each
256 shots - most by Tottenham & Man United = 20 each
85 on target - most by Tottenham = 10
90 corners - most by West Brom = 9
222 fouls - most by Crystal Palace = 16
31 yellow cards - most by Southampton = 5
1 red card - Chilwell for Leicester
0 penalties

What a game! What a Super Sunday it was! Liverpool outplayed and -scored league leaders Manchester City, 4-3 at Anfield. Yes, you read right, the unbeatables were beaten for the first time in the league this season. And what a belter of a game it was, the Reds shocking the Sky Blues riding high on top 4-1, before nervously tumbling over the finishing line 4-3, what a game it was, click here for my full match report.
How annoying was the early kick-off at Dean Court in contrast to the Merseyside showpiece?! Alex Iwobi elbowed the ball away in the box for Arsenal against Bournemouth a few minutes before the break, nothing given. Rob Holding with a cheeky shoulder as well, not as obvious, but oh so cheeky, shortly before Arsène Wenger's men took the lead after the break thanks to Héctor Bellerín. Man of the match Callum Wilson levelled the score for the home side and just a couple of minutes later (283 seconds to be exact) Jordon Ibe slashed a low shot under Petr Čech to turn the game on its head and the young Gunners with it. It was the first ever Premier League win for the Cherries against the red London side, red full of embarrassment!

What a team! Leicester were outstanding, Chelsea were nowhere. It ended 0-0 at Stamford Bridge thanks to Ben Chilwell's two stupid yellow cards in the space of five second-half minutes, giving the Blues some glimmer of hope, but the Foxes held on to the point in the end. It's the first time in the Blues' history they have recorded three consecutive goalless draws. Tired? Antonio Conte has enough players to choose from, I'm not too sure whether it's them or the Italian who are more tired of their job.
Stoke City announced Paul Lambert as their new boss hours before their match at Old Trafford and the fans' reaction wasn't exactly grateful. The Potters' struggle continued as the Red Devils cruised to a 3-0 win, thanks to some quality saves by David de Gea and play by Paul Pogba setting up scorers Antonio Valencia and Anthony Martial before Romelu Lukaku completed the scoreline. Good luck Paul. You'll need it. Lots of it.

What a man! David Moyes and Roy Hodgson continued their magic, enjoying life in London. West Ham thrashed Huddersfield 1-4 at the Kirklees Stadium, Mark Noble pouncing on keeper Jonas Lössl's messed-up pass to Joe Lolley, Marko Arnautović and Manuel Lanzini's double completing the onslaught after the break. This Hammers win made Moyes just the fourth boss to win 200 Premier League matches after Sir Alex Ferguson (528), Wenger (468) and Harry Redknapp (236). Bakary Sako's powerful cut and drill over Nick Pope's outstretched leg was enough for Crystal Palace to beat Burnley at Selhurst Park, continuing their revival under the former England boss.
Alan Pardew recorded his first win as West Brom manager, ending Albion's 20-game winless run, beating Brighton 2-0 thanks to goals from defenders Jonny Evans and Craig Dawson.

What a goal! Substitute Joselu equalised through defender Alfie Mawson's legs within four minutes of coming on for Newcastle against Swansea, heartbreak for the bottom side after they were leading thanks to Jordan Ayew's header and denied a penalty for an obvious handball, Mohamed Diamé elbowing the ball away from goal. More to the flop quality refereeing below.
Tottenham's 4-0 thrashing of Everton showed individual as well as team brilliance. Son Heung-min opened the scoring finishing off Serge Aurier's cross nicely. The South Korean set up Harry Kane with a fine run to double Spurs' lead, before the record-breaker made it three, converting Eric Dier's pass to take his Premier League total to 98 goals overtaking Teddy Sheringham's club tally. And last but definitely not least Christian Eriksen smashed in Dele Alli's cheeky back-heel pass to make it 4-0. The visitors never got a look into the game, 10-0 shots on target says it all, Big Sam's face and Sammy Lee's antiques on the sideline said it all, not happy.
As little as it counted in the end as detailed above, Lolley's equaliser for Huddersfield against West Ham was a beauty, the run, the take, the curl, the back of the net.

What the hell?! Similar to the denied Swansea and Bournemouth penalties mentioned above, Abdoulaye Doucouré's last-minute leveller for Watford to make it 2-2 against Southampton was an obvious handball. Maradona-esque. How did the referee(s) not see that?! The visitors led comfortably at Vicarage Road thanks to James Ward-Prowse's double in the first half, great team play, great goals, utter dominance. Marco Silva's men fought back after the break, Andre Gray heading one in before the late drama and controversy. Cruel cruel cruel for Mauricio Pellegrino and his men, who are now 10 league games without a win, the Argentine's days numbered as Saints boss.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Chelsea 2:1 Leicester - 0:0
Crystal Palace 1:1 Burnley - 1:0
Huddersfield 2:2 West Ham - 1:4
Newcastle 3:2 Swansea - 1:1
Watford 2:1 Southampton - 2:2
West Brom 0:0 Brighton - 2:0
Tottenham 1:1 Everton - 4:0
Bournemouth 1:3 Arsenal - 2:1
Liverpool 1:1 Man City - 4:3 or my match report
Man United 3:1 Stoke City - 3:0

Click here for my previous Picks Of The Week.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, MOTD, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 13

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 13

The 13th week of the Premier League action saw:

218 shots - most by Liverpool = 27
31 goals - most by Swansea = 5
267 fouls - most by Crystal Palace & Watford = 24
53 bookings - most by Crystal Palace = 5
1 red card - Miguel Britos for Watford
4 penalties - 4 scored (Milner for Liverpool, Wilson for Bournemouth, Mahrez and Slimani for Leicester)

LOL at Guardiola complimenting his side's "beautiful goals" - sarcasm may be included. 😂😝😂

OMG at Loris Karius' goal kick howler at Anfield - WTF?!?!?! 😱🙈😱

And Klopp starred again with his touchline antiques, punching Anfield! 👊🏻😁👊🏻

What a game! It was heartbreaking for Crystal Palace to see their side fall to their sixth successive defeat after coming from behind to end up losing out in a nine-goal thriller at the Liberty Stadium, seven of them coming after the break, four in eleven minutes. Many see this as Alan Pardew's final push, with his job having been on the brink already with his side's lack of form and results, seeing them hovering just above the relegation zone in 17th, level on points with Hull City in 18th. Bob Bradley meanwhile, can be very relieved, his Welsh side nicking it with two goals in stoppage time, substitute Fernando Llorente being the double-hero, the win taking Swansea up to 19th, a point between them and safety.

What a team! The top three are unstoppable at at the moment. All three recorded wins keeping them at the top of the league with just one point separating top dogs Chelsea (31) from Liverpool (30) and Manchester City (30). Their performances were far from impressive but they still did their job and recorded the three crucial points, which is the main thing when competition is this tight. Antonio Conte's side turned the game around against Tottenham, whilst Jürgen Klopp's men left it late against Sunderland and Pep Guardiola's side muddled and stumbled their way through at Burnley. The Gunners were also lucky, winning against Bournemouth thanks to defensive howlers, Petr Cech's quality stops and the officials' penalty ignorance. The race is heating up, the sides feeling the rise in temperature, making next week's game the more decisively crunchy!

What a man! Alvaro Negredo ended his goal drought since the opening day of the season, putting Boro ahead at Leicester with a nice double. The first was a nice sweep into the corner of the net, the second a fine finish after an impressive run, pick and hit. The champions ended up rescuing a point thanks to Islam Slimani's last-minute penalty, but Negredo deserved the man of the match award, despite the result, without a doubt. Sergio Agüero's double earned City a hard-fought win at Burnley and their first back-to-back win since September. Clarets boss Sean Dyche was not happy with the result, questioning some of the refereeing decisions, and rightly so.

What a goal! Both Chelsea and Tottenham scored mouthwatering beauties! First Christian Eriksen gave Spurs the lead at Stamford Bridge with an absolute screamer. It was the Dane's first goal since March, the ferocity of the drive giving keeper Thibaut Courtois no chance. But it was not to be for the visitors, who's last win at Chelsea came 26 years ago, the year Nelson Mandela got released from prison (i.e. a long time ago!). Pedro levelled he scored with a right-foot curling beauty, nice turn, again leaving the keeper hope-and useless. The winner was less quality, more deflection ping pong, but sealed Mauricio Pochettino's men's first league defeat of the season.

What the hell?! As mentioned above, the referees have had plenty of controversies and questionable decisions once again. So, José Mourinho's antiques, being sent off the second time in a month for his tantrums, look the more unprofessional and childish. Especially when looking at the incident that made him kick the bottle, Paul Pogba being booked for a dive, it was a correct decision as replays showed no contact was made with West Ham defender Mark Noble. It is just ridiculous how the Portuguese boss is acting and reacting to his side's lack of quality, call it tough luck and bad run of results. Like someone just has to give him back his dummy!!!

My Predictions - Actual Results
Burnley 1:5 Man City - 1:2
Hull City 1:1 West Brom - 1:1
Leicester 2:1 Middlesbrough - 2:2
Liverpool 3:1 Sunderland - 2:0
Swansea 1:1 Crystal Palace - 5:4
Chelsea 3:0 Tottenham - 2:1
Watford 1:1 Stoke City - 0:1
Arsenal 2:1 Bournemouth - 3:1
Man United 3:2 West Ham - 1:1
Southampton 1:1 Everton - 1:0

Click here to read last week's Premier League Picks

Pictures taken from the BBC match reports