Fab Four’s reunion so out of tune
PARDEW FRUSTRATES KOP
SHOOT! Move! The Kop screeched, Jurgen Klopp screamed but it made no difference. When the Fab Four are out of tune, harmony disappears from Anfield.
After all the frustration that Liverpool endured against Everton three days earlier, when the neighbours battened down the hatches, Klopp took drastic action and let Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino loose for the visit of West Bromwich.
This was only the second time in 17 matches they have all started but, for all the huffing and puffing, Liverpool came across a blue and white house they could not blow down. West Brom’s winless run continues but never has a draw felt so good.
Alan Pardew was rightly glowing after his team slid away with a point and a clean sheet but Klopp looked like a man who can’t fathom why things are not going his way. Liverpool had the ball in the net late on but referee Paul Tierney penalised substitute Dominic Solanke for handball.
‘ It looked like his chest,’ Klopp argued. ‘In the game it looked 100 per cent like chest. Afterwards I had a few replays, there’s an arm but I’m not sure if he touches the ball. Is it a penalty in the other box? I’m not sure. It’s not on purpose, for sure not.
‘He must be a really good assistant that made the decision. He will be happy probably if there was a hand involved. That’s another moment where we had no luck, because if he doesn’t see it or he’s not sure it’s a goal.’
That it came down to Klopp debating whether Solanke’s hand bundled the ball in from close range shows what a good job West Brom’s back four — marshalled by the outstanding Jonny Evans — did to contain Mane, Salah, Coutinho and Firmino.
It was a surprise to see them all together but their presence did not galvanise the team or the crowd. The atmosphere was flat and impatient.
Pardew set up his team to frustrate and break up the contest. They took their time at every free-kick and defended stubbornly. The onus, as was the case against Everton, was for Liverpool to be creative and in the 17th minute they nearly found a way through when Salah guided a pinpoint cross through a forest of legs to Firmino, but the Brazilian pulled his shot wide of the advancing Ben Foster.
But that was as good as it got for Liverpool before the break. They saw lots of the ball, moved it from one side of the pitch to the other, but never at pace to disrupt West Brom. Too many, most notably Mane, were short of the required standard.
It gave West Brom a sense that they may be able to pilfer something and in the 30th minute, a shot from Hal Robson-Kanu caused great alarm when it dipped over Loris Karius but clipped the top of the crossbar.
All West Brom needed to do was exploit one set-piece and they were on course to hit the jackpot. Pardew thought that was about to happen in the 50th minute but, twice, his team were denied by Karius.
The first was when an inswinging free- kick from Grzegorz Krychowiak caught everyone by surprise and forced the German keeper to back-pedal furiously to tip the ball over the bar. From James McClean’s corner, Evans tested him with a bullet header but again Karius stood firm.
Unable to contain his frustration, Pardew spun on his heels to indicate another chance might not arrive. Liverpool, he anticipated, would not continue to be so bad and in the 57th minute the home side should have found a breakthrough, only for Salah to head wide from Trent AlexanderArnold’s glorious cross.
Liverpool continued to press but just when they thought they had salvation, a brilliant spot by referee Tierney and his team ensured Solanke did not get the breakthrough. And, once again, Anfield vented its fury. It was a sound that Pardew was overjoyed to here.
‘We had a real tough task,’ said Pardew. ‘But we had a game plan and there were some great performances. Every point we get is gold dust.’
LIVERPOOL (4-3-3): ) Karius 7; Alexander-Arnold 7, Lovren 6, Klavan 6, Robertson 6.5; Wijnaldum 6 (OxladeChamberlain 76min), Can 6, Coutinho 6; Salah 7, Firmino 7, Mane 6 (Solanke 76).
Subs not used: Mignolet, Milner, Gomez, Henderson, Ings. Booked: Can. Manager: Jurgen Klopp 6.
WEST BROMWICH ALBION (4-5-1): Foster 7; Nyom 7, Hegazi 7, EVANS 8, Gibbs 7; McClean 6.5, Livermore 6.5, Yacob 7, Krychowiak 7.5 (Brunt 79), Robson-Kanu 7 (Rodriguez 71, 6); Rondon 6. Subs not used: Myhill, Burke, McAuley, Field, Ferguson. Booked: None.
Manager: Alan Pardew 7. Referee: Paul Tierney 7.
Attendance: 53,243.