NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 12: Pundit and former footballer, Jamie Redknapp speaks with Sky Sports prior to the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Aston Villa at St. James Park on August 12, 2023 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Liverpool supporters left Anfield on Wednesday night almost completely satisfied following a 5-1 thrashing of West Ham United in the EFL Cup.
Braces from Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo and a strike from Mohamed Salah put the Hammers to the sword, despite Liverpool falling behind to a 21st-minute Jarell Quansah own goal.
But that Quansah own goal highlighted one problem with Liverpool’s performance.
Although not necessarily the player’s fault, the shambolic nature of the goal will have caused concern for Liverpool fans, even if they did quickly forget about it amid a deluge of goals.
But it wasn’t West Ham’s only opening of the night. Indeed, a centre-back pairing of Quansah and Joe Gomez failed to keep a lid on the Hammers’ forward line at times — with the former making his first appearance since the opening day of the Premier League and the latter getting his first start of the season.
West Ham attempted 12 shots on the night, seven of which came in the second half, while they had 33 touches in the opposition box compared to 36 for Liverpool.
Redknapp worried about Liverpool’s post-Van Dijk defence
In reality, the game only truly got away from West Ham when Salah made it 3-1 in the 74th minute, with his goal quickly followed by a red card for Edson Alvarez.
Sky Sports pundit and ex-England midfielder Redknapp believes this game served as a snapshot of what life could be like once Virgil van Dijk leaves Liverpool, with the Reds looking a little lost at times around their own box.
“You could see a little bit of what life is like when Virgil Van Dijk’s not there as well,” said Redknapp (via BBC Sport).
“Gomez and Quansah probably haven’t played probably a lot of football together, it was a bit chaotic at times.
“They were managing to keep the ball out of the goal, Antonio was making a bit of a difference, making a handful of himself.
“Once the sending off comes, it just changes everything.”
Top photo by George Wood/Getty Images
