Something isn’t working for Liverpool so far in the start of the 2014-2015 season, losing 3-1 to West Ham at Upton Park, making it their third defeat in five matches and two losses in a row. For the Hammers, who scored two very early goals through Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho, it was their first home win of the season. Raheem Sterling made things interesting, but Morgan Almafitano scored late to finish all hopes of a comeback.
The opening goal came only 80 seconds after the start, with Liverpool once again showing how poor they are at the moment when it comes to defending set pieces. Winston Reid of all players, not someone known for his scoring prowess, managed to sneak past some poor marking of Javier Manquillo and Dejan Lovren, resulting in the opening goal.
Liverpool pushed forward, starting with two forwards in Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini, but were once again caught out by the quick West Ham attack, this time as Diafra Sakho, attempting to cross to the far post, ended up scoring what might be regarded as a brilliant lob goal, enjoying very poor positioning from Mignolet.
Liverpool found themselves back in the match after a chance, as Manquillo was taken out and Mamadou Sakho came on, changing the formation quite a bit. Liverpool began playing better, and Raheem Sterling scored off the rebound to finally put the Reds (playing in yellow) back in the match.
Adam Lallana came on for Lucas at half time, moving some players around but finally giving Liverpool some dominance in the middle of the pitch. The best they could do was long range shots from Mario Balotelli and Fabio Borini (later replaced by Rickie Lambert) which were saved by Adrian.
Almafitano came on late and made his mark with two minutes left in the match, as West Ham concentrated on attacking with very few players, mostly clearing the ball. Mamadou Sakho cleared the ball poorly into the feet of Stewart Downing, who realized how broken down the Liverpool defense was at the moment, assisting Almafitano’s goal from close range, clinching only West Ham’s second victory over Liverpool in their last 12 clashes.
