West Ham midfielder says his side deserved to win MNF clash
Monday 4 February 2019 22:54, UK
West Ham captain Mark Noble says you can sense the nervousness in the Liverpool squad, after his side held the Premier League leaders to a second draw in two games.
The Hammers were well worth the point, with Michail Antonio striking the equaliser after Sadio Mane had scored a controversial opener for Liverpool, when James Milner was not flagged offside.
Liverpool were also restricted to a 1-1 draw with Leicester at Anfield last Wednesday and Noble says the weight of history could be weighing on Jurgen Klopp's side as they go in search of their first Premier League crown.
"I watched the game at Anfield on TV and you could tell that with the history Liverpool have got, the anxiety around the stadium, it does feed into the players," Noble told Monday Night Football. "I could even feel it sitting at home on my sofa.
"It's just that Liverpool want to win that league so much. They've got a great chance of doing it but the fans have just got to stick by them, keep supporting them because it is going to be tough.
"Especially when you're leading and you're top and everyone is chasing you and you know Man City are not going to rest for one game. You need to stick together. But I'm pretty sure they're going to be fine. They've got a fantastic squad of players and a world-class manager.
"For the Liverpool people it would be fantastic if they won it. Man City have won a few. I think they [Liverpool] deserve it. As a neutral, like we are sitting in mid-table, it's going to be a fantastic end to the season to watch because there's going to be so many twists and turns."
Noble believes West Ham could easily have done even more damage to Liverpool's title bid by beating them but says his team are in a much better place after a difficult January.
"For us January was a bad month, going out of the cup and the two Premier League games we lost. We had a great start to it with Arsenal at home, though, and to come here and perform like we did today after those three defeats was a massive performance for us.
"Not just to get a point but the way we played. I should have scored myself, we should have scored two or three more goals on another day. Liverpool are a fantastic team but I thought we defended fantastically well and we probably deserved to win tonight."
