Last night, Liverpool managed to build on their 1-0 win over Manchester City with another 1-0 victory, this time against West Ham.
A first goal at Anfield for Darwin Nunez sealed the three points for Liverpool, although there was an incident in the 46th minute which will surely leave David Moyes furious back in east London.
Dark arts on show in Liverpool 1-0 West Ham
Well, Liverpool got away with one just before half-time as Jarrod Bowen missed a chance to equalise from the penalty spot, although Virgil van Dijk may have had something to do with it.
The Netherlands international could be seen walking up to the penalty spot while the players awaited a verdict from the VAR room, where he appears to dig his studs into the turf in an attempt to scuff up the pitch – just in case a penalty was awarded.
Bowen eventually saw his effort saved by Alisson, and Moyes will surely be livid if he realises what Van Dijk did.
The Hammers came inches away from finding an equaliser in the second half as Tomas Soucek appeared to have the goal at his mercy, although a vital block from James Milner preserved the three points for Liverpool.
Liverpool dominated West Ham
Moyes can be angry about what Van Dijk did, although the Scot can have no complaints about the result – Liverpool were by far the better side.
The Reds hit the woodwork twice thanks to a powerful strike from Nunez and a mistime clearance from Kurt Zouma – in total, Liverpool had 22 shots in comparison to just eight from West Ham, as WhoScored shows.
Liverpool also had 54% of the possession, on a night where the east Londoners were simply second best at Anfield.
Ultimately, football is a game of fine margins, and if Van Dijk didn’t decide to do what he did, Liverpool might have had to settle for a point – that one single act could prove decisive at the end the season.
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