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Liverpool 4-1 West Bromich Albion
A simply superb Luis Suarez hat-trick sparked Liverpool into a terrific 4-1 victory over a shell-shocked West Brom side that simply couldn’t deal with the endless amount of attacking The Reds produced throughout the game.
Key Stats:
The main statistic from this game is the amount of shots Liverpool had on goal. They consistently pepperedBoaz Myhill’s goal all afternoon and as a result The Reds ran away with an easy victory. Luis Suarez andDaniel Sturridge were the main players that made Myhill work the most, they linked up multiple times to create plenty of chances, and when you’re in the form Sturridge and Suarez are in – the majority of those chances are going to end up in the back of the net.
Another stat that catches the eye is the amount of shots West Brom had (16) and how The Baggies didn’t score more than once is beyond me. The Midlands side created enough chances but weren’t at their best up front – this showed as they didn’t score from open play despite having nearly as many chances as Liverpool.
Man of the Match:
The Man of the Match for this game is one of the most straight-forward and obvious decision for any Man of the Match award so far this season. Luis Suarez produced one of the best displays we’ve seen so far by an individual this season. He scored three, hit the cross-bar and linked well with, not just Daniel Sturridge, his strike partner, but the whole of the Liverpool side. He held up the ball well, passed it well and his game got better and better as the afternoon went on. A perfect performance.
Although only half of the Uruguayan’s take-ons (5/10) were successful, the number of times Suarez tried them in and around the area shows the confidence the Liverpool forward has in his game at the minute. It’s a confidence and an attitude that Brendan Rodgers will want Suarez to take into next week’s massive game at The Emirates.
Performance Score:
Liverpool dominated from the minute Luis Suarez’s first goal struck the back of the West Brom net. The main observation to take from the graph is quite how dominant Liverpool were and how the Baggies failed to get going again once Liverpool’s first goal went in. The graph shows The Reds’ performance exactly how it was – it got better and better as the game went on. Liverpool bossed every area of the pitch. Although defensively there will still be questions about whether the idea of a back-three is working, overall, Liverpool produced one of their best performances of the season.
Key Observation:
As mentioned earlier in this article – West Brom had chances. Not one or two long-distance shots on goal, but 12 shots from inside the Liverpool area. The accuracy of those shots was quite frankly, atrocious. Although Liverpool cruised to victory and their striking partnership was in the sort of form that meant they would have beaten almost any side in the Premier League, there are still major concerns about whether or not the back-three Brendan Rodgers deploys is the correct way for Liverpool to defend. If only The Baggies had two or three more shots on target, the game could have ended a draw. The fact that Liverpool did win so comfortably shouldn’t, for the Liverpool coaching staff, mask the problem that caused West Brom to have so many clear opportunities on goal.
