Joël Matip on “Putting Pressure on Our Opponents” in Top Four Race

For just the third time this season, Liverpool have put together a streak of three victories in a row in the Premier League after dispatching West Ham 2-1 on the road thanks to a second half headed effort off a corner by Joël Matip.

Not everything about the performance on Wednesday night could be said to be perfect, and the final stages of the game were especially nervy, but given the inconsistency on display this season the most important thing is the result.

“It’s hard when you are 1-0 down but especially the midfield with Trent stayed calm with the ball, it was really nice to watch how they play,” Matip noted afterwards. “We just kept playing and that helped us through the 90 minutes.”

West Ham opened the scoring against the run of play early but the Reds hit back quickly through Cody Gakpo. Then, in the second half, West Ham seemed to take the momentum—only for Matip to score in 67th minute off a corner.

Then, the Reds held on—with the help of some unexpectedly competent officiating to deny a West Ham ball-to-arm-in-a-natural-position handball claim. Now, they’ll look to match their longest league winning streak of the year.

A fourth win in a row when they face Tottenham on the weekend would match a run split by the World Cup that saw them win four in a row, with two wins to either side of the break, against Leicester, Villa, Southampton, and Spurs.

“This is the only thing we can do, put pressure on the opponents,” Liverpool’s veteran German-Cameroonian defender added when asked what comes next. “For this we have to play the next game and get three points there.”