West Ham very nearly extended their unbeaten league to five games but were undone by a late goal from substitute Diogo Jota as defending champions Liverpool won a hard fought clash at Anfield. Here are our talking points from this Game Week 7 fixture.

Pablo Fornals scores with the first shot of the game:

Pablo Fornals put the Hammers ahead in the 10th minute with a nicely placed shot- also the very first of the game for either side. Also lovely buildup play from the Hammers for the goal- they began the move from inside their own half, with Arthur Masuaku and Angelo Ogbonna both playing key passes to initiate the move.

But messes up two key chances

Given the way West Ham were set up (5-4-1), they need to make the most of their limited opportunities if they had to beat the Reds. Fornals took the first one well, but they were two other equally decent opportunities in the second half that he made a mess of- first in the 50th minute when he attempted a weak sliding shot from a Cresswell cross that should’ve been ideally left for Jarrod Bowen, and another in the 65th minute when he could’ve squared to the unmarked Bowen, but chose to take the shot himself.

The Spaniard had a very decent game otherwise, but those were two glorious opportunities that had to be taken.

A disappointing mistake from Arthur Masuaku

West Ham’s plan had worked almost perfectly for 42 minutes- grab an early goal and soak up the pressure. Liverpool’s front three were reduced to feeding on scraps. At this point, Masuaku unfortunately chose to make contact with Salah in the box, and referee Kevin Friend awarded a penalty. It was a needless penalty to give away and allowed the Reds a crucial goal before half time.

Masuaku had a very good game offensively, but he can be a liability defensively at times, and this was a frustrating error.

Jota and Shaqiri extend Liverpool’s unbeaten run to 63 games

The pair of Diogo Jota and Xherdan Shaqiri came off the bench to combine for Liverpool’s winner, just as they had done in midweek against Mitdjylland. Jota had a goal disallowed a few minutes earlier, but there was no doubting this one, with Shaqiri’s nutmeg pass setting up the Portuguese star for an easy finish.

Sebastien Haller unimpressive

With Liverpool missing Van Dijk, Matip and Fabinho, Sebastien Haller had a good opportunity to make a strong case for himself. However he came up second best in his duel against the 23 year old Nat Phillips, who was making his league debut for the Reds.

Apart from a flick on in the second half that could’ve lead to a goal (the one Fornals should’ve squared for Bowen but didn’t), Haller did precious little of note. It was another disappointing evening for the French star.

The game also saw a club debut for Said Benrahma, but he was introduced too late to have any kind of impact. David Moyes was initially planning to bring on Ryan Fredericks to keep things tight defensively, but Jota’s 85th minute goal changed matters, and he then sent on both Benrahma and Lanzini, but there was to be no repeat of the miraculous last minute equaliser against Spurs.

Liverpool 2 (Salah pen, Jota) West Ham 1 (Fornals)