Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol. Picture: ESPN/ YouTubeplaceholder image
Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol. Picture: ESPN/ YouTube | Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol. Picture: ESPN/ YouTube
Liverpool earned a 5-2 win over West Ham United in the Premier League.
Don Hutchison pointed the finger at Liverpool’s game management during their victory over West Ham United.
The Reds earned a 5-2 win against the Hammers at Anfield to move up to fifth in the Premier League table - but the performance was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggested.
Liverpool led by three goals at half-time, with Hugo Ekitike, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister all scoring from set-pieces. But the second period was hardly plain sailing, with Tomas Soucek reducing the arrears after four minutes.
The Reds lacked control for a period afterwards and while Cody Gakpo’s deflected effort restored the three-goal advantage, Taty Castellanos handed West Ham another lifeline. But the contest was settled with seven minutes remaining when Hammers defender Axel Disasi steered a cross from Jeremie Frimpong into his own net.
Speaking on ESPN, ex-Liverpool midfielder Hutchison was left baffled by how Arne Slot’s side constantly gave the ball away. He said: “My biggest worry watching the game was the management of the game when the score hit 3-1. It was almost like Liverpool's process in their mentality was: 'We're really not comfortable with the 3-1 so we're going to go out and try to get the 4-1'.
“Just keep the ball lads. In a day in which it is (late former Liverpool captain and long-serving coach) Ronnie Moran's birthday, I could hear him being on comms today shouting and Stevie would as well: 'Find a red shirt, keep the ball, if you don't you're going to get dragged off'.Liverpool were obsessed with trying to score a fourth goal because maybe behind them, they though they were going to concede another.”
Former Liverpool full-back Steve Nicol was also astounding how the Reds allowed West Ham a glimmer of hope. Nicol said: “I had Ronnie in my head as well. Don is 100 per cent right.
“They had players streaming forward and had so many men ahead of the ball and then the pass would be a poor one and they'd all be out of the game. If I was a full-back, I'd be going: 'Where do you think you're going? Get yourself back in there!' No game-management. The game management was really poor and if they keep doing that, I'm thinking the Champions League, we could get some barmy results.”
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