It was more a case of the missed chances that both sides had towards the end of regulation time and on into extra time, and a disproportionate number fell to Christian Benteke, who just could not seem to get the coordinates lined up however promising the opportunity. There was a first sighting of Daniel Sturridge in boots and kit since Dec 16 and he acquitted himself well for an extended evening’s work.
There was nothing to show for all the grazed posts and penalty-area pinball in terms of goals, until the very last moment of the first half when Michail Antonio scored for West Ham.
It took a strong run from Enner Valencia down the inside left channel and then a cross to the back post, where Antonio met the ball on the full, to make the breakthrough. The two sides had traded punches until then with neither capable of making the decisive intervention.
Klopp opted for the FA Cup combination of a defence and midfield from rookies and irregulars, building up towards a much more seasoned attacked that included Philippe Coutinho, Christian Benteke and Jordon Ibe.
On the bench was Sturridge, about whom Klopp said beforehand there was a “99 per cent chance” he would play at some point, and the urgency for a goal was that much greater after Antonio struck.
There were 10 changes from the side who drew 2-2 with Sunderland on Saturday, with only Simon Mignolet retained. He was more reliable in the first half and may even have got the slightest of glove-brushes on Payet’s swerving free-kick on 38 minutes that struck a post. Whether he did or not, he was back on his feet within a moment to push away the follow-up header from Antonio.
West Ham had hit a post in the 16th minute when Joey O’Brien struck a heavily deflected shot. Otherwise it was a difficult first half for the club’s third-choice right-back, who found his right side targeted by Liverpool. They came closest when Winston Reid gave the ball away and Benteke and Coutinho combined, only for the latter to shoot against a post.
Liverpool went down that right side more than once with full-back Brad Smith, whose cross on 26 minutes was missed by Benteke and Coutinho.
Minutes later Joao Carlos Teixeira missed again when the ball was deflected into his path.
Mignolet had just kept out Antonio’s follow-up effort from Payet’s free-kick when the 25-year-old Englishman finished powerfully at the back post for the first goal.
Liverpool were back in it within three minutes, shortly after Benteke tried to force his way through a group of West Ham shirts on the edge of the area, and Cheikhou Kouyaté brought him down. The free-kick looked inviting even before referee Roger East insisted the wall stand so far back their presence was virtually immaterial – but then they jumped in anticipation and that was where it all went wrong for West Ham.
Coutinho’s shot ran under West Ham’s wall and found the corner of the net that Darren Randolph could not reach. It was an embarrassment for Slaven Bilic and his players and they seemed to feel that as Liverpool started to exert themselves. Klopp sent on Sturridge and Divock Origi, leaving himself with an attacking four of those two supplemented by Ibe and Benteke.
With Sturridge and Benteke in partnership, Liverpool had the potential for goals – it just was not quite clear what would come to pass at the other end. Thiago Ilori seemed to drag down Valencia as he ran on to Antonio’s cross. West Ham lost Winston Reid to injury. Sturridge looked sharp for one who has been away for so long. He challenged the home defence at times in a way they had not been challenged up to then.
Had Coutinho remained on the pitch there might have been more opportunities for him. West Ham sent on Andy Carroll as a replacement for Kouyaté, who went down heavily after a challenge with Jon Flanagan.
That changed in the first period of extra time when the home side were the more promising in the opening stages. They had Antonio at right-back, and limping, and Mark Noble shielding the back four. He had space for a shot seven minutes in and Mignolet saved well.
Once again, it was Liverpool with the best chances and Benteke who missed them. The first came from a header upwards by Sturridge that dropped perfectly for the Belgian and he missed the goal altogether with the right-foot shot. Perhaps that was playing on his mind less than a minute later when he went through on goal and could not get the ball past Randolph, who had done well to get out quickly.
West Ham 2 Liverpool 1
- Telegraph