Liverpool vs West Ham: Hammers ground staff do a dirty at half time

West Ham ground staff did a dirty at half time on Monday night as they failed to prepare the Liverpool side of the pitch.

Home teams are always going to try and gain an upper hand and the Hammers staff were fully on board as they tried to deny the Reds a second goal.

You can’t say whether or not the pitch influenced the draw, but it’s revealing to see a home side using all the tactics at their disposal to try and get a positive result.

Of course, gaining a point against the top team in the land must be considered a fine evening for Manuel Pellegrini’s team – who only recently lost 3-0 against Wolves.

Despite Sadio Mane scoring early for the second time in a row, Liverpool couldn’t do enough to record victory in London. That means the gap at the top of the Premier League is now just three points.

With Manchester City recovering from their loss at Newcastle United with a fine win over Arsenal, the pressure was on the Reds to do the same. All would have expected a win, but there were a series of poor performances that hampered their efforts.

West Ham’s ground staff can’t be judged too harshly for what they did on Monday night and this headline is meant to be taken with a pinch of salt. If it was Anfield, no doubt those backroom staff boys would be getting a round of applause and a free pint by now.

More troubling was the way this team look a bit nervous in possession and struggle to find a way past a very average Hammers defence.

While Jurgen Klopp didn’t put out a weakened team, the certainly didn’t have massive options from the bench – as they fact that he only made two substitutions illustrates.

Klopp may have had Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge to call on – but two of those three may not be at Liverpool next season, while the midfield options were non-existent.

But still, the Reds are three points clear at the top of the Premier League and have Bayern Munich to play in the Champions League. Let’s get excited!