Premier League

Neville delivers verdict on West Ham after Liverpool display

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Gary Neville claimed that Manuel Pellegrini’s decision to play a high line against Liverpool saw his side get the result they “deserved” on Sunday.

The Sky Sports pundit claimed that it was an “extremely dangerous” tactic to play against the Reds and suggested that Jurgen Klopp’s team could have scored more even though they ran out 4-0 winners over the Hammers.

“If you remember back to the days when Manuel Pellegrini was in charge of Manchester City and he used to hold that line to the edge of the box, it was almost as if defenders couldn’t go back in there,” said Neville on The Gary Neville Podcast uploaded on acast (3:28 – 5:15).

“The problems is if the player on the ball has time to play and the player who makes the runs is Salah (Mohamed, Mane (Sadio) or Firmino (Roberto) who can time their runs brilliantly then it’s an extremely dangerous tactic.

“It proved that today and how the game went, I have to say that front three for Liverpool they make more quick runs in-between the spaces of the opposition’s back four then I’ve ever seen and it’s the most difficult run to mark as it’s a difficult one to mark for a centre-back and a full-back and if you’ve got a defence who is going to hold the line at the point where passes can go into the box then you’re in real trouble.

“You’re putting a goalkeeper in a nightmare scenario so it was a very dangerous tactic and a debatable one to use against Liverpool so they got what they deserved in the game.”

After losing their first Premier League game of the season to the Reds on Sunday, the Hammers are next in action against Bournemouth on Saturday when they host them at the London Stadium.

OPINION

It seems Neville has opted to condemn Pellegrini’s decision to play a high defensive line against the Reds and it’s hard to disagree with his point of the view. The Hammers were torn apart by a rampant Reds side who appeared to score goals easily and for fun in order to get their Premier League season off to a very bright start. While Pellegrini prefers to play a high defensive line perhaps he should have changed his style for the game against Klopp’s side as it played into their hands. There will be sides who won’t exploit the Hammers’ high defensive line this season but given how potent everyone knows the Reds’ attacking force is then he should have adjusted his tactics when it came to playing them. Hopefully the Hammers will fare better against the Cherries on Saturday and several new recruits will be able to put in a display that shows them in a better light. As it seemed to be only Felipe Anderson that made a positive impression on his Premier League debut for the Hammers as his fellow new recruits struggled to make an impact due to the Reds having a field day.

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