West Brom Frustrates Liverpool in Anfield Stalemate
It proved to be a bleak night at Anfield as Liverpool failed to break down a stubborn West Brom outfit in a game of few clear-cut chances, with a disallowed Dominic Solanke goal the closest the Reds came to taking all three points.
Neither side had a clear-cut chance in the opening exchanges as Liverpool's coveted front four all started the game, hoping to link up as well as they did against Spartak Moscow, while West Brom looked to be organised and contain their hosts early on.
It was Liverpool however and Roberto Firmino who had the first clear chance just short of the 20th minute, but the Brazilian fired wide of Ben Foster's goal from a tight angle after a glorious pass from Mohamed Salah, with compatriot Philippe Coutinho unmarked in the centre of the area waiting for cut-back that never came.
Alan Pardew would've been pleased with his side's first-half performance as an off-target Claudio Yacob header offered encouragement of a threat to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.
He almost saw his side take the lead on the half hour, as Hal Robson-Kanu cannoned his 25-yard effort of the top of the bar with Loris Karius well beaten in goal as the Welshman came the closest in breaking the deadlock in the first half.
Liverpool appeared frustrated as the Anfield crowd looked to spur on their team, with their calls almost answered as Trent Alexander-Arnold whipped a dangerous ball into the West Brom area, but Salah was unable to stretch enough and make any contact.
The Reds looked more threatening towards the end of the half, with Firmino and Salah seeing their efforts blocked as Liverpool looked to build some late pressure, before Paul Tierney's whistle brought an end to the first period.
West Brom started the better as play resumed in the second half, and Loris had to be alert to tip over a wide Grzegorz Krychowiak free-kick and then a Yacob header from the resulting corner before Ahmed Hegazi missed the target with a free header which he probably should've done better with.
Liverpool took a while to get going in the second period, with Sadio Mane and Salah failing to hit the target with their attempts, while Klopp was hoping for more of an attacking impetus from his side in the second half.
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Then out of nothing, Liverpool almost took the lead courtesy of Foster. He decided to punch a Mane cross and made a mess of it, before failing to catch the follow-up and had Allan Nyom and Jonny Evans to thank for clearing the ball from under his crossbar and save the West Brom goalkeeper from any further embarrassment.
It proved to be a frustrating night for Liverpool as their play appeared disjointed, while West Brom looked comfortable in their defending and had a genuine threat up front with the impressive Salomon Rondon being a handful for Liverpool's defence.
In the final 10 minutes, Liverpool looked to take the game to West Brom and thought they had taken the lead but had a goal disallowed due to a handball from substitute Dominic Solanke, before the England U21 international saw an effort cleared off the line from Hegazi moments later.
It was Liverpool who did all the attacking in the final moments of the game searching desperately for a goal but struggled to break down an organised West Brom before the whistle sounded for full-time to bring to an end the stalemate at Anfield.
