After 180 minutes of normal time in the two legs of the fourth round FA Cup tie between the Hammers and Liverpool, a late goal from Ogbonna was enough to for West Ham to dump Liverpool out of the FA Cup. Liverpool looked threatening all night but a goal once again from a set piece saw Liverpool’s FA Cup dreams end at the Upton Park.
Here are 5 things we learnt from West Ham’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool:
1. West Ham owe a lot to the Upton Park:
The Hammers will move to the Olympic stadium next season but their form and revival this season ha mainly been down to their home form. They have lost just 2 games so far this season at the Upton Park and the manager and the players owe a lot to the atmosphere in the ground which is in its last season of service. Surely, the Hammers will want to end their run at the ground with some silverware.
2. Klopp will be delighted by the young guns:
In a tough game at the Upton Park when Liverpool were yet to score a goal against the Hammers, Klopp sent in a relatively young team with Stewart, Smith and Chirivella all given a start. None of the youngsters showed any nerves as the Liverpool side outplayed West Ham for most of the game. The manager will be delighted by the response he has got from the youngsters and will surely hope to give them more chances this season.
3. Sturridge, Coutinho and Origi can revive Liverpool:
Though the spot light was on the young guns, Liverpool’s injury returnees, Coutinho , Sturridge and Origi all of whom played for about an hour showed a bit of more zeal in the final third and gave glimpses of what Liverpool lacked up front in the last few games. With Firmino finding form off late, there is not reason why Liverpool cant get back on the top 6 even after recent results.
4. Benteke missing something:
Even as he is being criticized for not scoring goals and not doing enough in the final third, Christian Benteke failed to convert a number of chances that fell his way on the night, most notably a one of one with Randolph in the second half. He looks low on confidence and needs a regular run in the squad and some goals to get back into the mix of things at the club. The Belgian needs all the support he can get from around the Kop if he is revive his season and stay at the club at the start of the next one.
5. What now for Klopp?
Liverpool are now out of the FA Cup and similar results can see them crash out of the all the cup competitions by the end of the month. They are still alive in the Europa league and the Capital One cup and need to be more decisive and ruthless in front of goal if they are to keep their hopes of silverware alive for the rest of the season. Jurgen Klopp who was miraculously back after his medical surgery will have a lot more to do in the upcoming weeks leading to the end of the month when Liverpool go to Wembley in the League Cup final.