Mane man Sadio inspires Reds to hit battling Baggies
LIVERPOOL secured the victory they wanted, but a late Gareth McAuley goal cost them top spot in the league.
A two-goal winning margin would have been enough to leapfrog Arsenal on goals scored and they were on course for that for most of the evening.
But when McAuley volleyed home from a corner to reduce the deficit after 81 minutes, it kept the Gunners in first place on goal difference.
Manchester City could overtake them both if they avoid defeat at home to Southampton this lunchtime, but the message is clear.
The Reds have made great progress under Klopp and they will be challenging for the title, certainly based on their attacking play.
But the late lapse which cost them a goal in a game they were dominating remains their Achilles heel.
This match came just five days after the bore draw against Manchester United, which had punctured a little of Liverpool’s momentum.
There was one significant change to their starting line-up though as Adam Lallana was fit to return from injury and he replaced Daniel Sturridge.
This was further confirmation that on current form, the striker does not figure in Liverpool’s best team.
West Brom were unbeaten in their last four games, as Tony Pulis has once again made them difficult to beat. But he had to do without defensive lynchpin Jonny Evans for this one.
In the corresponding fixture last season, Pulis and Klopp had clashed on the touchline in a 2-2 draw.
That match saw the Reds equalise deep into injury time and Klopp lead his team in celebration in front of The Kop, which raised eyebrows in certain quarters.
This time, Liverpool were appealing for a penalty within three minutes of the start as Sadio Mane and Allan Nyom tangled in the area and went to ground but the appeals were turned down.
The visitors were happy to get plenty of men behind the ball, but they sprung forward with menace on the counter attack and it needed a smart interception from Joel Matip to thwart a dangerous move involving Nacer Chadli and Matt Phillips.
Klopp was not happy and immediately demanded more from his players and they responded as James Milner got forward from left back and headed just over from Jordan Henderson’s cross.
But the breakthrough was not long in coming and it was a perfect example of the Reds’ free-flowing football.
The move began with a gorgeous dummy from Philippe Coutinho, Emre Can spread it wide to Roberto Firmino, whose delicious cross was met with an emphatic volley at the back post by Mane.
The £34 million fee to sign him from Southampton may have seemed high, but this was Mane’s fourth goal as he has quickly become a key man in Liverpool’s attacking style.
They were keen for a second and Lallana showed nice feet in the area, but his final effort was well off target.
However, the goal didn’t take too long to arrive, although Pulis won’t have been pleased with how it came about.
Ben Foster sliced a back pass from Darren Fletcher up in the air and Fletcher only manage to knock it into Mane’s path as he tried to retrieve the situation.
Mane played it to Coutinho, who sold a dummy to two defenders and fired past Foster at his near post.
Liverpool remained on the front foot after the break and it needed a crucial block from McAuley to stop Firmino sliding home the third.
Then, from Coutinho’s free-kick, Foster produced a terrific save to keep out Dejan Lovren’s header.
Even though the points looked safe, the home team mercilessly carried on attacking and Coutinho unselfishly teed up Emre Can, who saw his goalbound strike blocked by Jonas Olsson.
Without the cushion of that extra goal, the Baggies were somehow just in touching distance, and Nacer Chadli poked wide from a rare corner and then substitute James Morrison wasn’t too far away with a curler from outside the box.
McAuley then forced Loris Karius into his first save with a header from a free-kick, but the Northern Irishman reduced the deficit from the resulting corner.
MATCH STATS