On a day when Liverpool hoped to restore some pride following defeat in the Merseyside derby, things couldn’t have gone much worse on their visit to the capital.
The Reds finished the day trailling title favourites Manchester City, who have two games in hand, by a point after a disappointing 2-2 draw against West Ham United.
In a flat first half at the London Stadium, Jarrod Bowen gave the Hammers an unexpected lead with a well-timed header via a quickly taken corner in the 43rd minute.
Jurgen Klopp’s side then found renewed energy after the break and took the lead after 20 minutes through a snapshot from Andrew Robertson in the 48th minute, then an Alphonse Areola own goal after Cody Gakpo’s triple-deflected shot inside the penalty area.
However, there was to be another twist in the tale when Michail Antonio’s powerful header levelled the scores again with 15 minutes left to go.
In the first flash point in the game, West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta escaped punishment for a rash challenge on Alexis Mac Allister, once again flagging inconsistencies in refereeing that have plagued the Premier League all season.
Anthony Taylor was again in the spotlight in the second half for a contentious decision involving Hammers’ keeper Alphonse Areola.
Despite having waved the advantage, the referee then denied Cody Gakpo a clear goalscoring opportunity, blowing the whistle before the Dutchman reached the ball.
However, the biggest event to dominate the headlines was the touchline bust-up between Mo Salah and Jurgen Klopp.
Just as the Egyptian was about to be subbed on with 10 minutes left to go, he reacted badly to something his manager said and started shouting and gesturing as Darwin Nunez attempted to calm him down.
Following the game, he then delivered a shock eight-word response to the spat.
