Liverpool Stumble To Lose To West Ham

JAKARTA - West Ham United forced Liverpool to swallow their first defeat of the season after beating their visitors 3-2 at the London Olympic Stadium on Sunday local time.

The result marked the first time that Juergen Klopp's team has lost in 17 games in all competitions, as well as ending Liverpool's unbeaten streak of 20 consecutive Premier League games since last season.

Thanks to this victory, West Ham successfully passed Liverpool's position in the standings. David Moyes' team is now in third place with 23 points, displacing Liverpool (22) to fourth, according to the Premier League's website.

Failure to anticipate set-piece situations became the cause of Liverpool's defeat because two of the three goals scored by West Ham were born from corner kicks.

West Ham's opening goal came before the age of four minutes through Pablo Fornals' sharp corner which Alisson Becker failed to stop and the Liverpool goalkeeper scored an own goal.

Liverpool's players protested that Alisson was being bullied by Michail Antonio and Angelo Ogbonna and referee Craig Pawson consulted VAR before agreeing to the goal.

Liverpool did dominate possession but struggled to penetrate a solid West Ham defense and needed a free-kick to equalize in the 41st minute through Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Alexander-Arnold fired an accurate free-kick over West Ham's fence and slid smoothly into the net, out of reach of goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

In the second half, Liverpool still had more possession of the ball, but their performance was less than optimal in midfield so that the high defensive line that was applied was often plagued by threats.

In the 67th minute, Liverpool lost the ball in West Ham's half which the hosts immediately used to counter-attack before Fornals' fine finish beat Alisson to restore a 2-1 lead.

Liverpool's negligence in anticipating another corner came at a price seven minutes later when Kurt Zouma went unmarked to head home Jarrod Bowen to widen West Ham's lead to 3-

The situation forced Klopp to include Divock Origi and Takumi Minamino to present alternatives in Liverpool's attack line. As a result in the 83rd minute, Origi scored a goal back with a round shot that outwit Fabianski.

Unfortunately, Liverpool failed to ignite the momentum of a revival against West Ham's thick defense.

Liverpool had a golden opportunity to equalize in the first minute of injury time when Sadio Mane stood free at the far post to meet Alexander-Arnold's free-kick but the Senegalese striker's header deviated from the target to ensure West Ham won 3-2 at the end. fight.

After the international break, both teams will play again on November 20, when West Ham travel to Molineux against Wolverhampton and Liverpool look to return to winning ways at home to Arsenal at Anfield.