Liverpool beat West Ham United 2-1 in the Premier League on Wednesday, thanks to a powerful header from Cameroonian, Joel Matip to move them over Tottenham Hotspur and back into the European places after a frantic end-to-end battle at the London Stadium.
Thanks to Joel Matip, the Reds now sit sixth in the table with 53 points, one point ahead of Spurs due to a vastly superior goal difference, and one point behind Aston Villa with a game in hand as they attempt to salvage a disastrous season.
The defeat ended a three-game winning streak for West Ham, which dropped them to 14th place, five points clear of Leicester City in 18th.
West Ham took the lead in astonishing fashion in the 12th minute when Lucas Paqueta cut in from the left and played a one-two with Michail Antonio before blasting home from the edge of the box. That lead lasted only six minutes, however, as Dutch striker Cody Gakpo received a pass in the centre of the pitch, and took a touch before quickly unleashing a bouncing shot that escaped Lukasz Fabianski’s dive and nestled in the far corner.
Virgil van Dijk’s outstanding defending prevented West Ham from taking the lead again right before the break, as he got a toe to a beautiful angled ball from Said Benrahma to prevent Antonio from scoring at the far post.
Liverpool dominated possession throughout, but the Hammers were dangerous on the break, and they had a stunning solo goal by Jarrod Bowen called out early in the second half after a VAR review judged him to be offside after going through Joel Matip and Virgil Van Dijk.
After having a shot blocked a minute earlier, Joel Matip scored in the 67th minute with a close-range header from Andy Robertson’s corner to put his team ahead.
West Ham had a late penalty claim rejected down after the ball struck the arm of substitute Thiago Alcantara as he went in for a tackle, but the referee waved aside their protests and VAR did not intervene as Liverpool won their third game in a row.
Joel Matip on Brilliant Header, West Ham Comeback, and Chasing
Joel Matip – who returned to the starting XI in place of the injured Ibrahima Konate – spoke to Liverpool FC about how Jürgen Klopp’s men achieved the comeback, his header, and the aim to keep chasing the teams above them.
On the first chance he had to score before he did score, Joel Matip said “I had two, to be honest: already the header and then the deflection. Normally it should be in but [I was] really lucky that I had a minute later another opportunity”.
Asked about the sweet connection he made with the header he scored, he added, “For sure it was one of the hardest headers I did so far, but it doesn’t matter – as long as they go in I’m happy.”
The defender concluded that chasing the teams above them in the table is the only thing they can do – “put pressure on the opponents. For this, we have to play the next game and get three points there.”
