Liverpool 0-0 West Brom: Late Dominic Solanke goal ruled out in stalemate

By Gerard Brand

Thursday 14 December 2017 00:04, UK

Dominic Solanke had a late goal ruled out for handball as Liverpool were held 0-0 by West Brom at Anfield on Wednesday.

Sub Solanke thought he had scored his first Liverpool goal late on as the ball accidentally struck his arm before falling past Ben Foster but the officials ruled it out, deeming the close-range finish to be a deliberate handball.

Hal Robson-Kanu had struck the top of the bar for the visitors before the break, while Loris Karius made two good saves in quick succession from Grzegorz Krychowiak's free-kick and Claudio Yacob's header in the second half.

The result leaves Liverpool fifth, 18 points off leaders Manchester City, while West Brom move up to 17th, above the drop zone on goal difference.

Liverpool had 71 per cent of the ball overall in the game, but couldn't convert their possession domination into goals.

Roberto Firmino poked the ball just wide from Mo Salah's superb delivery across the face of goal, while at the other end Robson-Kanu struck the top of the bar from 25 yards with a fine effort.

West Brom had a flurry of chances after the break; first Krychowiak's deep cross from a free-kick caught the wind and tested Karius, and from the resulting corner, the goalkeeper did well to tip over Yacob's powerful header.

Sadio Mane struck just wide from Firmino's centre from 12 yards before the hour mark, before Salah glanced a header wide when in space from six yards.

But the big talking point came with eight minutes remaining as Solanke looked to have bundled home a winner with a slight touch off his hand from close range after Joe Gomez's cross.

He wheeled away in celebration with his Liverpool team-mates, and though referee Paul Tierney had initially given the goal, he was overruled by his assistant, who deemed Solanke to have handled intentionally.

Sub Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain was denied at his feet by Ben Foster shortly after, and Solanke's rebound was cleared off the line by Ahmed Hegazi, as Liverpool failed to force a winner.

Man of the match - Salomon Rondon

Just as he did at Wembley in the draw with Spurs late in November, Rondon held the ball up brilliantly at Anfield, and Liverpool's defence will be delighted to see the back of him.

He competed in 27 duels, 10 more than any other West Brom player, and won a team-high four fouls. In games where Alan Pardew will be setting up not to lose, the Venezuelan is vitally important.

The managers

Jurgen Klopp on disallowed goal: "If the arm is then involved, I don't know but there were two deflections. If this was in the other box a penalty, there would still be discussions because it is twice deflected, and for sure not on purpose.

"It was not on purpose. So if there was a handball it just happened, and so obviously the linesman or whoever thought he saw it 100 per cent. And look, there will be a lot of points on the one side saying it was the right decision, and some on the other side, and we will not get it back, so for sure we cannot change it."

Alan Pardew: "[Liverpool] had all the big hitters out there, it wasn't like we came up against a Liverpool side who had left a few out, it was a real force. We kept them quiet and I think the players can be very proud of their performance."

Opta stats

This was just the fifth time Liverpool have failed to score in a Premier League home game under Jurgen Klopp - they had scored at least once in 38 of their previous 42.
West Brom have not won any of their last 16 games in all competitions (D8 L8); their longest winless run in the club's history.
Similarly, Albion are winless in 15 games in the Premier League - their only longer such run in the competition came between February 2006 and August 2008 (16 games).

What's next

Liverpool now go to Bournemouth on Nissan Super Sunday, live on Sky Sports Premier League at 4.30pm, while West Brom host Man Utd, also on Super Sunday at 2.15pm.