Monday night’s Premier League game could prove pivotal in the race for the title, as West Ham held league leaders Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium. The draw means that the Merseysiders are now three points clear of Manchester City, who play Everton on Wednesday night.
West Ham held their own against the leaders
In truth, Liverpool once again produced a lacklustre display. However, it could have been far worse for Jurgen Klopp’s team, as their opening goal on 22 minutes was offside. James Milner was offside when he crossed the ball to winger Sadio Mane to score the opening goal. Replays showed it was a poor mistake from the officials.
The lead did not last long though, as West Ham equalised just six minutes later. Felipe Anderson found winger Michail Antonio in the area and he made no mistake with his finish. The home side could have taken the lead through Mark Noble and Declan Rice, but both midfielders missed good chances.
Liverpool came close to snatching maximum points in stoppage-time, as substitute Divock Origi found himself unmarked in the Hammers box only to fire straight at Lukasz Fabianski in the home goal.
Liverpool’s form has dipped in recent weeks
Liverpool started the campaign like a freight train and looked unstoppable for much of the season. However, the Reds form has dipped slightly in recent weeks, as two consecutive draws against mid-table teams have proven.
It would have been difficult for the Merseysiders to avoid a rough patch. Even the best teams more often than not go through a rough patch in the campaign, where they are suddenly not as sharp and not winning every week.
If this is Liverpool’s only rough spell during the campaign, then nobody should be worried, as they have only drawn two games and are still top of the Premier League for now. Manchester City can move to the top of the table with a victory at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.
The Citizens are big favourites to win on Merseyside, mainly due to the Toffees recent atrocious Premier League form. Even if City record a victory, Liverpool will still have a game-in-hand and can return to the top of the table at the weekend.
Title race far more interesting this season
The race for the Premier League title is far more interesting this season than last. City ran away with the title breaking all sorts of records last season. They were undoubtedly the dominant force in the English top-flight.
However, this season Liverpool’s improvement and a drop in City’s consistency has given the fans a proper title race. Neither team seems invincible, as both teams have missed golden opportunity to take advantage of their rivals slip-ups.
It is nice to see a title race that could well go down to the wire, with two very good teams fighting it out for the title. Both teams progress in the Champions League may just prove to be the key in deciding the title’s destination this season, whether it is Merseyside or Manchester.
There are still plenty of twists and turns to come in the title race and it is fascinating. Hopefully, it will continue like that for the remainder of the season.
Are Liverpool starting to melt under the pressure of being Premier League leaders?
