Last night saw West Ham, armed with a number of ex-Man City players, do the reigning champions a huge favour when they held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at The London Stadium. Manuel Pellegrini will always be a popular man in Manchester, and more so for last night, however, the Hammers had a panic when they saw him bring on Arthur Masuaku.
A fantastic display by Felipe Anderson. He is replaced by Arthur Masuaku for the final few minutes.#WHULIV 1-1 (90) pic.twitter.com/d8fm6cS3cg
— West Ham United (@WestHam) February 4, 2019
The sublime Felipe Anderson’s time on the pitch had run its course as 90 minutes clocked up, and Pellegrini looked to his bench to bring on a defender for the final three minutes of injury time that was added by referee Kevin Friend. The Congolese defender is often accused of failing to do just that, though, so bringing him on against the likes of Mo Salah and Sadio Mane certainly frightened the Irons.
The left-back was able to see the game out though, and whilst it may not have been the elusive three points that the Hammers dreamt of before the clash, it was a massive point that Pellegrini would have snapped your hand off for if offered it prior to kick-off. It was a result that could shift the Premier League title race, and the Hammers still cannot believe that Masuaku was the man chosen to see it out.
You can read the Irons’ concerned verdict on Masuaku’s introduction here:
don't let him anywhere near the back line!!
— small bean regarder (@stringless101) February 4, 2019
— Fabian WHUFC (@WHUFC_USA_2008) 4 February 2019
https://twitter.com/_JustForBants/status/1092540715337428992
HOLD ON LADS
— Nivory (@Nivory_) 4 February 2019
Hold on pls
— Marie tama (@Marietama1) February 4, 2019
Do u want to let the country down or what?
— James (@_jameshealy_) 4 February 2019
https://twitter.com/DiopRole/status/1092540629278707713
The Hammers certainly had a panic when they saw Masuaku coming on and would have rather gone through the final few minutes without the fear of the left-back letting Liverpool in for the win, even though it never happened.
