Injuries Take Toll, but Klopp Misses Tactical Trick as West Ham Foil Liverpool

ANFIELD, Liverpool — Liverpool failed to win for the third time in their last four Premier League games on Sunday afternoon as they were held to a 2-2 draw by West Ham United.

After the miserable capitulation at Bournemouth a week earlier, this was all about how Jurgen Klopp's side would respond.

The early signs were good, and the returning Adam Lallana gave the home side the lead within five minutes—the Reds' quickest goal of the season so far.

But from there the tempo dropped, and Loris Karius—who had received much criticism for his role in the defeat at Bournemouth—was again the player in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

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The young goalkeeper's positioning for Dimitri Payet's equalising goal on 27 minutes seemed to be questionable, and, being ultra critical, he was caught in no man's land for the second goal after Joel Matip struggled with the flight of the ball and allowed Michail Antonio in.

Liverpool started the second half as brightly as they had their first, and this time it was West Ham stopper Darren Randolph who made the mistake, allowing Divock Origi to tap in for his fourth goal in his last four appearances.

Liverpool dominated and pushed for a winner but weren't clinical enough and lacked options from the bench to change the game.

Ultimately, it was another two points dropped for the side who were top of the table a month ago and now find themselves six points behind Chelsea.

Depth

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A week, let alone a month, is a long time in football. During the final international break of the year in mid-November, Klopp's side sat in first place in the Premier League.

After a tough opening slate of games, which saw them beat Arsenal, Leicester City and Chelsea, it was expected that their strong form would continue after the international break, with the Reds being handed a run of winnable fixtures—against Southampton, Sunderland, Bournemouth, West Ham and Middlesbrough.

So far, though, they've won just one of the four played in that stretch—against Sunderland—and picked up just five points from a possible 12.

Rather than sitting at the top of the table, Liverpool have quickly found themselves looking up at Chelsea.

"It's difficult to stay in the race with Chelsea when they win everything [every game]," joked the Liverpool manager post-match. "When we were first or second I wasn’t thinking about it. The season is very long and as everybody knows the most intense time is coming now."

The problem for Liverpool is that injuries have started to mount at the wrong time—just before the festive fixtures arrive thick and fast.

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With Emre Can out with a slight knee injury, Dejan Lovren being removed at half-time with cramp in the hamstring, plus Philippe Coutinho and Daniel Sturridge already sidelined, Klopp's bench is starting to look very weak.

A few weeks ago when the Reds blitzed Watford 6-1 to move top of the table, Klopp's substitutes included Sturridge, Origi and Georginio Wijnaldum, giving plenty of strong options.

Against West Ham, the bench consisted of youngsters—with academy trio Ben Woodburn, Ovie Ejaria and Trent Alexander-Arnold joining defensive trio Lucas Leiva, Ragnar Klavan and Alberto Moreno.

"One change would have made the difference today," Klopp admitted. "It was not the best moment to bring on the young boys on bench."

Had Klopp been able to call upon Sturridge as a substitute, Liverpool may have been able to find a way past the visitors.

Firmino struggles

It's often said that you can learn more from a defeat than you can from a win, and this was to be tested against Slaven Bilic's side. While Liverpool can be pleased to have avoided a second consecutive defeat—an indignity they've never experienced in the league under Klopp—this was another wasted opportunity.

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Liverpool are obviously missing Coutinho—who wouldn't?—and his absence has had a knock-on effect on the attack and mostly his compatriot Roberto Firmino.

Firmino has moved from the No. 9 role in which he has impressed this season to left of the front three in order to accommodate Origi up front.

And while Origi's four goals in four appearances is a clear positive, Firmino's form has dipped massively, and he had probably his worst performance of the season against West Ham.

What Firmino gives you in the centre is his relentless pressing and the ability to win the ball high up the pitch, something that is lost out wide. Origi isn't playing badly, it's just not the same fit.

What might have been worth trying at least for a period in this game was to swap the two players, with Origi often looking strong when running at full backs out wide—and he has a keen eye for cutting in off that left side to shoot with his right foot. It's perhaps strange that Klopp didn't at least try it for a short time in-match.

Up next for Liverpool is a trip to Middlesbrough and the Riverside Stadium—a ground they've not won at since 2002 and are winless in their last seven visits.

It's another game against an out-of-form side who are in and around the relegation zone. Anything other than three points really will see Liverpool's run of kind fixtures completely wasted—with the Merseyside derby soon to follow.

* Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise stated.