Irons benefit from Jarrod Bowen return in Liverpool draw

West Ham welcomed Liverpool to the London Stadium off the back of a 5-2 defeat to Crystal Palace. Hope did not seem high for the Irons as they were to take on a side seeking to battle their way back into the race for the Premier League title.

However, somehow - almost incredulously at points - the Hammers secured a 2-2 draw against Jurgen Klopp’s title-winning hopefuls.

Moyes made two changes to his side with the previously injured pair of Alphonse Areola and Jarrod Bowen back in the starting line-up and they were exceptionally welcome additions to a team coming into the game having failed to win a match since 6 April.

Bowen was met my rapturous applause when making his way on to the pitch and the England international did not disappoint, scoring the opening goal minutes before the half-time whistle. Following build-up play from Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus, the Hammers’ number 20 headed the ball past Alisson Becker and suddenly the London Stadium was alive with energy.

Bowen had been providing opportunities throughout the opening 45 minutes and did well to be rewarded for his services as the Irons took on a side battling for the league trophy.

Following the re-start, the Irons soon went in to complete disarray with Liverpool scoring just three minutes into the second half. Andy Robertson produced a superb strike to level the playing field with disastrous defending from Angelo Ogbonna and Tomas Soucek then gifting the Reds a further lead just under 20 minutes later.

All was not lost, however, with Bowen once again proving the difference and an excellently sent ball was sent firing into the goal by Michail Antonio to keep the Irons’s hopes alive.

While there were moments of complete boredom and frustration, this game somehow also had everything with the final five minutes proving the most nail-biting of all. Contrary to the Hammers’ last Premier League outing, the majority of fans stayed until the last moments of action. The final whistle was not met by boos, but by the rare sound of cheers with the London Stadium acknowledging their stars had worked incredibly hard to restrict Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool to just one point. Of course, there will undoubtedly be lingering vexations that the Irons would be unable to find that third goal - an accomplishment they were will within their abilities to procure today.

Here are LondonWorld’s player ratings following the 2-2 draw at the London Stadium...