Liverpool have earned a deserved half-time lead over West Ham United at Anfield tonight.
Darwin Nunez has opened the scoring with an excellent header after previously testing Lukasz Fabianski with a stinging volley earlier in the 45 minutes against David Moyes’s side.
The £85 million hitman has been involved heavily for Liverpool throughout the first half.
But Roberto Firmino is the one turning the screw for the Reds, along with Thiago Alcantara.
The Brazil international, a £29 million signing in 2015 [BBC Sport], is floating around everywhere in Liverpool’s attack, making him a difficult figure to mark.
And Pat Nevin has noticed the South American’s unpredictable positional play which is causing problems for West Ham, claiming it is ‘really dangerous’.
He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Once again, Firmino is picking up positions and West Ham just don’t know where to go. You would think Declan Rice would be in there killing that space but Firmino is being really clever. He started off at centre forward beside Nunez and then just dropping off, finding a lot of space and he is really dangerous down there.”
Nunez hit the post shortly before the break following more good work from Firmino – and it looked like it could prove a costly miss.
West Ham were awarded a penalty on the stroke of half time following a foul by Joe Gomez.
But Alisson kept out Jarrod Bowen from 12 yards, prompting eruption from the Liverpool supporters inside Anfield.
It’s been a fascinating half of football on Merseyside and better yet, there’s another half to come.
But unless the Irons do more to silence Firmino after the break, it’ll be more one-way traffic.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
