The atmosphere at Anfield was the subject of much criticism during West Ham’s defeat to Liverpool.
West Ham suffered their annual defeat at Liverpool, slipping to a 2-1 defeat on Sunday.
The Hammers put in their usual Jekyll and Hyde performance which they’ve spent the last 16 months perfecting under three different managers.
Liverpool meanwhile barely had to get out of first gear to take one step closer to the Premier League titles.
Things have become so bad at West Ham that Graham Potter says he was pleased with what he saw in a defeat which sees the club slip to 17th in the Premier League table.
An already daunting task was made all the more difficult for West Ham ahead of the trip to Merseyside.
Mohamed Salah ended years of speculation by signing his new Liverpool deal.
Carragher and Ferdinand question quiet Anfield vs West Ham
And the Reds were something of a wounded animal having lost only their second league game all season last weekend.
Arsenal dropping points again only added to the incentive to beat the Hammers for Arne Slot’s side.
A cauldron – or at the very least carnival atmosphere – awaited for West Ham then.
Except the famous Anfield atmosphere was nowhere to be seen.
That’s according to the likes of Jamie Carragher and Les Ferdinand.
Another poor first half performance from the Irons saw Liverpool take the lead, but even that could not raise the decibel levels.
West Ham made more of a game of it in the second half, getting a goal back when Andrew Robertson put through his own net.
West Ham are 17th for a reason, though.
And they pathetically conceded to lose a few moments later.
That brought the biggest cheer of the day from the crowd.
The Anfield atmosphere is often described as a myth by rival football fans.
On special nights, especially in Europe, there is no debating it takes some beating.
Hammers made first half ‘like a training game’ for Reds
This was not one of those occasions.
But Potter completely disagreed with Carragher about the Anfield atmosphere after West Ham’s defeat to Liverpool.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher continually referenced his surprise at the lack of atmosphere at Anfield.
He said he thought it would be better given the news over Salah’s deal and the fact the title is now within touching distance.
Carragher suggested it might have been because West Ham had been so bad in the first half it had been ‘like a training game for Liverpool’.
The former Liverpool hero lamented the lack of atmosphere and pondered the age old debate about whether it was up to the fans to get the team fired up or vice versa.
Potter disagrees with Carragher about Anfield atmosphere
Liverpool and West Ham paid respects to victims of Hillsborough disaster before kick-off.
An impeccably observed minute of silence remembered the 1989 disaster which remains the biggest tragedy in British sporting history, claiming the lives of 97 people and injuring hundreds more.
In the past that occasion has sparked heightened emotions and performance from Liverpool’s players and fans.
At half-time Les Ferdinand agreed with Carragher about the lack of atmosphere.
He suggested it had surprised him and suggested that perhaps marking Hillsborough had made for a more sombre atmosphere.
West Ham’s loyal following was at Anfield in great numbers as usual. Despite being offered very little reward following the team over the last season and a half.
They made their voices hear.
But Potter disagreed with Carragher and Ferdinand, volunteering that he thought the Anfield atmosphere lived up to its reputation.
“The supporters here today (for both sides) were fantastic, I thought, amazing,” Potter told West Ham’s website after the game.
“In a top atmosphere, all afternoon, and our fans certainly contributed to that.”
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