Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw at home to West Brom on Sunday, as the Reds fell well below their best on a shoddy day at the office
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Liverpool 1-1 West Brom
Premier League (15), Anfield
December 27, 2020
Goals: Mane 12′; Ajayi 82′
After an eight-day break after the record 7-0 win at Crystal Palace, Jurgen Klopp‘s champions were back in Premier League action.
Liverpool were overriding favourites to pick up another three points, as West Brom headed to Merseyside under new manager Sam Allardyce.
It was the former Palace boss who last won in the league as an opposition manager at Anfield, clinching victory with the Eagles way back in April 2017.
Klopp went with arguably his strongest possible current XI, with Curtis Jones starting in midfield at the expense of Naby Keita, who was again absent through injury.
Liverpool completely bossed the game from the moment it kicked off, with possession almost exclusively inside the Baggies’ half.
It didn’t take long for them to take the lead, as Sadio Mane brilliantly fired home from Joel Matip‘s pass, rifling past Sam Johnstone.
The hosts struggled to create much of note for the rest of the first half, though, with Mohamed Salah having a couple of half-chances.
As the minutes ticked by, Liverpool’s performance got increasingly worse, allowing the game to completely drift by in frustrating fashion.
Alisson made one big save from Karlan grant to act as a warning, but the Reds didn’t wake up, and Semi Ajayi equalised with a header that went in off the post.
There was still time for Roberto Firmino to be denied brilliantly by Johnstone in the dying moments, but Klopp’s men deserved no more than a point.
Next up for Liverpool is Wednesday’s trip to Newcastle, with a big response needed at St James’ Park.
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