Mark Noble has compounded Liverpool’s draw with West Ham by suggesting their “anxiety” is clear for everyone to see.
Liverpool dropped points in consecutive games for only the second time this season as they saw their lead at the top of the Premier League cut to three points with a draw away at West Ham.
The Reds took the lead at the London Stadium before conceding to Michail Antonio, and they failed to find a winner in a frantic second half.
Their soft underbelly was exposed after a spate of injuries has left a previously impenetrable defence looking particularly susceptible.
And Noble says the title “anxiety” that he witnessed as a viewer in Liverpool’s draw with Leicester played a massive part in what was a fine home draw for West Ham.
“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 Sky Sports.
“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.
“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.”