Chris Sutton offers brutally honest verdict on ‘complacent’ Liverpool

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Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham United at the London Stadium last night; halting their progress in the race to win the Premier League title.

Jurgen Klopp’s side took the lead through Sadio Mane but the Hammers hit back through Michail Antonio.

It could have been so much worse for the Reds who were second best for large parts of the contest.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side looked fired up for the game and Declan Rice, in particular, was guilty of missing a gilt-edged chance just prior to the interval.

Liverpool will relinquish top spot on Wednesday night should Manchester City defeat Everton.

The Reds face tough games against in-form Bournemouth, Manchester United and the Toffees in the next month and they can ill-afford any more slip-ups.

The share of the spoils was their second draw in succession having failed to defeat Leicester City at home last week.

Taking the result for granted

BBC Pundit Chris Sutton believes that complacency crept into Liverpool’s game last night.

The Reds have destroyed the Hammers in their last four meetings and the ex-Celtic striker thinks that caused Klopp’s men to take their eye off the ball.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: “The aggregate result in this fixture was 16-2 in the last four games, so Liverpool would have come into this fixture thinking ‘these are our whipping boys.

“To come away with a point they maybe didn’t deserve, they will have lost confidence.

“They have not been convincing and the juggernaut of Man City chasing them is ominous.

“They have to go away and look at themselves at the top of the table and grow their confidence because this isn’t a sprint for the title yet.”

Sutton’s comments are certainly interesting.

It is a fair assessment to say that Liverpool were miles away from their fluent best last night.

The Reds must bounce back and providing City go and beat Everton on Wednesday it will be they who hold the title within their grasp.