Allardyce frustrates Klopp again at Anfield as West Brom hold Liverpool

Sam Allardyce put West Brom’s hard-fought draw at Liverpool down to “grit, determination, organisation and team spirit” after he continued his fine run at Anfield. 

In his second game in charge of the struggling Baggies, Allardyce masterminded a 1-1 draw at the home of the reigning Premier League champions on Sunday. 

Allardyce is now unbeaten in each of his previous four Premier League games at Anfield, managing a win and three draws. Each trip came while in charge at a different club – Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Everton and West Brom. 

The result moved his current employers onto eight points, still five from safety, while Liverpool are now just three points clear of the chasing pack, led by their Merseyside rivals in Everton, one of Allardyce’s former teams. 

West Brom made 213 passes in total, in comparison to Liverpool’s tally of 772. Indeed, in the first half, Reds captain Jordan Henderson completed 85 passes, almost twice as many as West Brom (46) managed. 

However, despite having just 21.9 per cent possession, West Brom took their chance when it came – Semi Ajayi heading in from Matheus Pereira’s corner in the 82nd minute.

5 – Five of the last six goals Sam Allardyce’s teams have scored at Anfield in the Premier League have been scored in the final 20 minutes of play. Sting. pic.twitter.com/iywoKD5UqK

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 27, 2020

Karlan Grant had earlier squandered a big opportunity for the visitors midway through the second half, though West Brom needed Sam Johnstone to pull off a spectacular save to deny Roberto Firmino late on. The away side had three shots on target, one more than Liverpool, who had a total of 17 attempts. 

Explaining the display to Sky Sports, Allardyce said: “Really good organisation, a team trying their very best to nullify the best team in this league at their own patch, and what a fantastic job they did. 

“It’s all about staying in the game when you come here, not allowing too much. 

“The resilience of the side allowed us to get up the pitch more in the second half, to pass the ball better in the second half which ultimately resulted in one fantastic chance for Grant, who unfortunately didn’t quite take it, but Semi came up and fired in a fantastic header which gave us a point today. 

“We’re not the most constructive in terms of the amount of goals we score, that’s obvious to see, so goals are precious to us.  

“The lads have showed a lot of grit, determination, organisation and team spirit at a difficult place. I’ve seen the players telling me that they really want to stay in this division.”

1 – This is the first time since December 2016 that Liverpool have dropped points from a winning position at Anfield against a side starting the day in the relegation zone (2-2 West Ham). Shocking. pic.twitter.com/BukYMJMu31

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 27, 2020

Until his appointment in December, Allardyce had not managed since leaving Everton in 2018.  

Allardyce’s second league match in charge of the Toffees was also at Anfield – Wayne Rooney netting a 77th-minute penalty to secure a draw for the visitors. 

West Brom actually managed more possession than Allardyce’s Everton side did (20.61 per cent) on that occasion back in December 2017, plus also had two more attempts on goal. 

Having made a vital save to secure a point, West Brom goalkeeper Johnstone now wants West Brom – who face Leeds United next – to build on this result, as well as a recent draw away to Manchester City. 

“It’s different, it’s good,” Johnstone said of Allardyce’s tenure so far. “Everyone knows what the manager is like, he’s come in and things have changed very quickly. 

“The lads are reacting to it, hopefully it’s progress and we keep building and getting results. We need to turn the draws into wins.”