West Ham‘s winning goalscorer Kurt Zouma explained their approach to Sunday’s 3-2 win over Liverpool, believing David Moyes’ side got it “spot on” tactically.
It was a familiar story for the Reds as they saw their club-record 25-game unbeaten run come to an end with a clumsy defeat at the London Stadium.
Trent Alexander-Arnold‘s stunning free-kick restored parity after an Alisson own goal, only for Pablo Fornals to strike and Zouma to head home and ensure Divock Origi‘s late finish was a mere consolation.
Liverpool have seen many games like this play out during Klopp’s reign, though many of those were in the early years, with Moyes masterminding a throwback performance.
As Zouma took post-match duties with Sky Sports, the Frenchman explained how West Ham exploited the Reds’ setup – though it is far from surprising.
“Tactically we were spot on today,” Zouma said.
“We knew that Liverpool like to press very high and leave space at the back.
“Obviously, we knew that the way they play, they’re very open, so when they lose the ball, as soon as it’s a turnover, we can go and counter-attack.
“That was the plan. Obviously, we tried to play our game too, and it worked out today.”
Zouma, who has played Liverpool on 13 occasions throughout his career with Chelsea, Stoke, Everton and West Ham, gave credit to the opposition but insisted the Hammers were “more clean-cut.”
“We know we played against a great side, Liverpool is always a tough team to play against, but today we gave our all and had many chances to score,” he added.
“It was quite an open game, there were some chances for both sides, but we were more clean-cut today, we stayed strong at the end, we dug deep and we got the win.”
Fornals, meanwhile, pointed to West Ham‘s status as underdogs in the game as being key to their ability to shock the title contenders.
“Obviously we don’t ‘need’ to win, because we’re not favourites in any case,” the midfielder said.
“But [whoever] wants to be ahead of us has to come here and fight against us. That’s us, that’s how we are playing this season and it’s the thing that brings us here.”
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