LIVERPOOL: Liverpool blew the chance to open up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League yesterday as Semi Ajayi's header eight minutes from time earned West Brom a shock 1-1 draw at Anfield. The Baggies remain second bottom of the table, but gave their chances of survival a huge boost by becoming the first visiting side to take even a point at Anfield in the league this season in Sam Allardyce's second match in charge.
Sadio Mane had given Liverpool a 12th minute lead, but Jurgen Klopp's men lived to regret not making more of a dominant first-half display to give the chasing pack in the title race an unexpected boost. The defending champions move three points clear at the top of the table, but just four points separate Everton in second from Southampton in ninth.
Allardyce was the last visiting manager to win a Premier League game at Anfield, when in charge of Crystal Palace back in April 2017, and the former England manager is now unbeaten in his last four away games against Klopp's men with three different clubs. The Baggies set out to limit the sort of damage suffered by Crystal Palace in a 7-0 hammering inflicted by Liverpool last weekend, but could barely get out of their half before the break.
Mane ended his longest drought of nine games without a goal as a Liverpool player against Palace and showed his sharpness in front of goal is back with a brilliant touch to control and finish from Joel Matip's pass on 12 minutes. That could and should have opened the floodgates for Klopp's men given their level of control before the break. A series of dangerous crosses from Andy Robertson failed to find the finishing touch, while Mane headed just wide from Jordan Henderson's delivery.
However, Liverpool's failure to put the game beyond West Brom's reach led to a nervy second-half. The Reds suffered another injury blow at centre-back as Matip pulled up with a muscle problem and had to be replaced by 19-year-old Rhys Williams with Virgil Van Dijk and Joe Gomez long-term injury absentees. Williams was penalized for an innocuous foul with his first involvement, sparking a furious reaction from Klopp, which saw the German booked by referee Kevin Friend.
Despite their lowly position in the table, West Brom have already taken points off Manchester City and Chelsea this season and were extremely unfortunate not to take at least a point away to Manchester United. Allardyce's game plan to stay in the game as long as possible worked to perfection as West Brom began to threaten in the final quarter. Karlan Grant outpaced Williams to burst clear on goal 20 minutes from time, but Alisson Becker spread himself brilliantly to block.
Ajayi was denied his first Premier League goal when his strike away to City in a 1-1 draw earlier this month was credited as a Ruben Dias own goal. But he repeated the trick and this time got the credit with a powerful header in off the inside of the post that this time left Alisson helpless. Liverpool have made a habit of winning games late in the past two seasons, most recently when Roberto Firmino's injury time header beat Tottenham 2-1 in their last outing at Anfield. The Brazilian nearly did it again at the death, but his downward header was brilliantly saved by Sam Johnstone.
Leeds hold off Burnley
Meanwhile, Patrick Bamford's early penalty earned Leeds a controversial 1-0 win over Burnley in the Premier League yesterday, while West Ham twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Brighton. Marcelo Bielsa's men now enjoy a nine-point cushion over the drop zone as they moved up to 11th, but needed luck on their side as Burnley were denied an equalizer through Ashley Barnes by a refereeing error. The only goal at Elland Road came after just five minutes when Bamford latched onto a long ball over the top and was wiped out by the onrushing Nick Pope.
Bamford fired home the resulting penalty into the top corner for his 10th goal of the season. Burnley felt doubly aggrieved when Barnes smashed home after Illan Meslier fumbled a high ball into the box on 17 minutes. The French goalkeeper was awarded a free-kick for backing in by Ben Mee and despite Meslier appearing to be the aggressor, the goal could not be reviewed by VAR as referee Robert Jones had blown for the foul before the ball hit the net.
"Their keeper comes through, knees him in the back," said Burnley boss Sean Dyche. "If a centre-half does that he probably gets booked. Not only is it a penalty, we put it in the goal and he doesn't give it one second to review it. "Ironically, it's been taking hours to make a decision and you get a really important decision and they can't look at it. The referee played a big part, but we still have to focus on our part." Defeat sees the Clarets drop to 17th, still just two points above the relegation zone.
West Ham snatch point
Brighton edged ahead of Burnley thanks to a point at the London Stadium, but will be disappointed to have thrown away the chance of just a second win in 14 games. Twice the Seagulls led as Neal Maupay's predatory finish to a loose ball inside the area just before half-time was just reward for Brighton's more purposeful approach in the first-half.
David Moyes reacted with two changes at half-time to liven up West Ham after a dire first 45 minutes and got the reaction he wanted when substitutes Andriy Yarmolenko and Manuel Lanzini teed up 20-year-old Ben Johnson for his first senior goal. The visitors retook the lead when a corner broke perfectly for captain Lewis Dunk to fire high into the roof of the net. However, Brighton's struggles at defending set-pieces cost them all three points when Tomas Soucek's header leveled eight minutes from time. - Agencies