West Ham United came painfully close to guiding themselves out of the relegation zone as they surrendered a lead and lost to Liverpool 3-2 on Monday evening. The win for Jurgen Klopp’s side saw them equal Manchester City’s Premier League record of 18 consecutive victories in the top-flight, set during by the Citizens in 2017. While the Reds also edged to within five games of Arsenal’s 49 match unbeaten record, highlighting the stellar performance the Hammers gave to come close to ending the streak.
Issa Diop was imperious for the east London outfit throughout the encounter and was one of the primary reasons David Moyes’ side were able to shake off the embarrassing lack of ambition they displayed against Manchester City. As per WhoScored, the French centre back made one tackle, one interception, along with three blocked shots and 14 clearances, in an astonishing feat of bravery at the back. Time and again the 23-year-old was not afraid to put his body on the line for West Ham’s cause, and he displayed an unwavering commitment to the art of defending throughout the entire game.
However, in possession, Diop was not quite so assured as he had been at regaining the ball. As per WhoScored, the Frenchman made just 14 passes, with a 64.3 per cent accuracy, firing off six long balls two of which reached a teammate. Under the intense pressure of Liverpool’s forward line, Diop may have lacked the confidence to pick out a teammate in tight areas, leading to his high number of clearances and long balls, which will have ultimately reduced his pass accuracy.
Having been one of the three defenders in the box who left Georginio Wijnaldum with a yard of space to open the scoring for Liverpool after nine minutes, at first it appeared Diop would be in for a long night. But the centre back wasted no time in making amends for his side, exquisitely peeling off his markers to earn himself the space to guide a header low into the bottom right-hand corner past an outstretched Allison.
Diop, rated £31.5m (Transfermarkt), did all he could, putting in a heroic performance on the night for the Hammers as the battled back from the drab Manchester City performance. Still, ultimately they were unable to prevent the Premier League’s juggernaut marching towards new records.
