Liverpool Vs West Brom: Talking points

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Bengaluru, December 14: Liverpool suffered yet another frustrating outing at Anfield just after days of the 1-1 draw against Everton in the Merseyside derby.

This time, Alan Pardew's West Bromwich Albion were the opponents at Anfield on Wednesday (December 13) and the game ended in a 0-0 stalemate and once again Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp will be furious with the referee who denied the Reds a certain goal.

West Brom held a perfect shape throughout the game and caused Liverpool problems on their own but in the dying minutes of the game, Liverpool substitute Dominic Solanke's goal was ruled out but it was clear that the handball was not deliberate at all.

Liverpool found it hard to create too many chances and will be frustrated after the draw but Alan Pardew will surely be happy with his side's defending and one valuable point from Anfield.

Here are three talking points of the game-

Sadio Mane's struggle

Sadio Mane was the hero of Liverpool last season but this season, the Senegalese looks to be struggling especially since his comeback from injury. The 25-year-old was poor against West Brom throughout the game losing too many balls in the build up play.

The Senegalese forward has had chances of late to add to his goal tally which haven’t been taken, but against West Brom his biggest moments came with opportunities to set up team-mates.

Liverpool need luck with the officials

For the third game in a row, Liverpool have suffered due to poor decisions from the officials. After two soft penalties given against Brighton and Everton, this time the Reds saw a genuine goal ruled out handball by the assistant of the referee.

It wasn’t a handball, and the goal should have stood. Even then there was more to complain about afterwards: three minutes added on was embarrassing given the time-wasting tactics employed by the away side.

West Brom deserve credit

No team in the world is expected to take on Liverpool in an attacking approach and neither was West Brom. Alan Pardew named a Tony Pulis esque starting XI but they not only defended well but also caused problems to the Reds on the break. In fact, they had more shots on target up to one point.

The Baggies are in the middle of a relegation battle but should be able to drag themselves out of it by the end of the season with the quality they have.