Jarrod Bowen missed a penalty as West Ham lost 1-0 to Liverpool. Darwin Nunez’s first goal secured all three points for the Reds, as the Hammers suffer their first defeat in six games in all competitions.
Liverpool’s Dominating First Half
West Ham managed to keep Liverpool moderately quiet in the early stages, but the hosts started to liven up with Nunez’s first-time volley forcing a great save from Lukasz Fabiański on the 15-minute mark.
It ended up being the Darwin Nunez show in the first half, and the Liverpool striker got his reward just after 20 minutes when he rose to meet Kostas Tsimikas’ cross and power a header past the West Ham keeper.
This was Nunez’s first goal at Anfield, and he could’ve had a first half hat-trick. He had another shot saved minutes after his goal and hit the post later in the half.
Penalty Woes
Despite Liverpool’s first half dominance, West Ham had a golden chance to go into the first half when the video assistant referee (VAR) awarded the Hammers a penalty after Joe Gomez fouled Bowen in the box. However, the winger couldn’t convert from the spot with Alisson pulling off a great save to his right in front of the Kop.
This is the second penalty West Ham missed this season, with Declan Rice having his spot kick saved against Nottingham Forrest in August.
West Ham Continue to Miss Chances
West Ham looked livelier in the second half with Said Benrahma and Gianluca Scamacca having good chances. The Hammers went very close to equalising late on when James Milner produced a goal-saving block to deny Tomas Soucek from close range.
Moyes Speaks
Speaking to Amazon Prime, West Ham manager David Moyes spoke about his frustrations with his sides’ lack of goals, “We’re not scoring enough at the moment. Tonight was a night we had a few opportunities, and we didn’t quite take them.”
What’s Next for the Hammers?
West Ham will look to respond quickly to this defeat on Monday as they host newly promoted Bournemouth at the London Stadium for an 8pm Kick Off.
Editor: Joshua Owoaje
