Liverpool held by West Bromwich Albion as Dominic Solanke sees late goal ruled out for handball

For the second time in the space of four days, Jürgen Klopp saw his players drop two points at home and again, he may leave with complaints about what might have been.

After more than 80 barren minutes of few decent opportunities for either side, Dominic Solanke thought he had finally found a breakthrough and his first Liverpool goal. West Bromwich Albion’s stubborn resistance looked as though it had been broken.

Referee Paul Tierney disagreed, however, judging the youngster to have handled while bundling the ball across the line. After the late penalty call that denied Klopp’s side victory over Everton on Sunday, it was another debatable decision that the Liverpool manager would be sure to point to in his post-match analysis.

The truth is though that, even after restoring Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino to the starting line-up alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, his ‘Fab Four’ were not so fantastic and simply did not do enough to break down a team whose last victory in any competition came against Accrington Stanley in August.

open image in gallery

For the visitors, even after that long barren run without a win, this point will feel like three. Alan Pardew’s side arrived knowing that deep, resolute defending may just be enough to frustrate their hosts and they were proved right.

A quiet start to proceedings was reflected by a flat atmosphere in the stands and the home side failed to lift Anfield in an uninspiring first half. Pardew, taking charge of his third West Bromwich game, is not known for sending out well-drilled and organised defensive outfits but he inflicted the first defeat of Klopp’s Liverpool career with a stubborn Crystal Palace team on his last visit here, and his new players set up in much the same manner.

Klopp had to wait until a quarter of an hour had passed before his side had their first clear sight of goal and Firmino should have undone the visitors’ early hard work by breaking the deadlock. The Brazilian was found free at the far post after Salah’s cross had cut a beeline through the West Bromwich defence but under pressure from Allan Nyom, he cut his shot wide, across the face of the gaping goal.

open image in gallery

Pardew’s side showed little attacking intent of their own but their direct passing against a weakened and unfamiliar Liverpool defence posed a threat nevertheless. Hal Robson-Kanu provided their one first-half warning shot, bouncing the ball off the top of the crossbar from range after the hosts had failed to deal with the fall-out from Ben Foster’s long, lofted free-kick.

Salah came inches away from an opener towards the end of the half but Trent Alexander-Arnold’s teasing cross from the right had too much on it for the Egyptian, who could not quite get close enough to prod the ball into an open goal. Shortly after, Firmino showed invention to skip around Nyom and Robson-Kanu then shoot but his effort was blocked, as was Salah’s follow-up. Liverpool went back down the tunnel frustrated.

For all their control, they had failed to fashion enough clear-cut opportunities and West Bromwich sought to make them pay with a string of set pieces once play had restarted. Of all three efforts to test Karius, Claudio Yacob went closest with a header the Liverpool ‘keeper had to delicately tip over the crossbar.

Klopp’s side responded with another couple of half-chances. Sadio Mané, on the peripheries for much of the night, opened his body up too much for one off-target attempt and Salah should have done better a few moments later with a free header. Instead, he directed it into the ground and wide.

open image in gallery

With Pardew’s side seeming to have an answer to every attack and Klopp reluctant to make a change, an error on the visitors’ part began to look like Liverpool’s best hope of an opener. Foster almost granted them one by scuffing a routine punch then bizarrely failing to gather the loose ball. Georginio Wijanldum was yards from the goalline waiting to pounce, but the ‘keeper recovered in the knick of time.

Liverpool upped the ante in the closing stages but only truly threatened with the move that saw Solanke’s effort chalked off. The former Chelsea youngster saw Joe Gomez’s cross from the right roll up off his chest, skim his arm and cross the line. Anfield celebrated, then suddenly noticed Tierney pointing for a free-kick.

It was not long before another chance fell to Solanke but while Foster was attempting to find his feet, he hesitated, allowing Ahmed Hegazi to position himself and clear the resulting attempt off the line. Tierney left the pitch to jeers at the final whistle but the blame was not his. This was performance lacking in ideas that did not deserve three points.

Liverpool: Karius; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez 80), Klavan, Lovren, Robertson; Can, Wijnaldum (Oxlade-Chamberlain 76), Coutinho; Salah, Mané (Solanke 76), Firmino.

Substitutes not used: Mignolet, Milner, Henderson, Ings.

West Bromwich Albion: Foster; Nyom, Evans, Hegazi, Gibbs; Livermore, Yacob, Krychowiak (Brunt 79); Robson-Kanu (Rodriguez 71), Rondon, McClean.

Substitutes not used: Myhill, Burke, McAuley, Field, Ferguson.

Referee: P Tierney (Lancashire)

Attendance: 53,243