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At the half: West Ham builds 2-0 lead, Liverpool pulls one back

West Ham United v Liverpool - Premier League

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 20: Mario Balotelli of Liverpool and Adrian of West Ham clash following a heavy tackle by Balotelli on Adrian during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at Boleyn Ground on September 20, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

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West Ham opened up a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes of play, as Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho paced the hosts to a lead over Liverpool on Saturday at Upton Park.

But Raheem Stirling struck in the 26th minute to breathe life into the favored visitors.

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Poor marking by Liverpool led to Reid’s goal, as he nodded in a headed pass from James Tompkins.

And Reid started the second goal with a tackle, that led to Sakho’s chipping of Simon Mignolet, and by the 7th minute it was Liverpool trailing by two.

[RELATED: Latest Premier League standings]

Mario Balotelli found himself in a bit of controversy after a late tackle on West Ham keeper Adrian. The backstop appeared to kick-out at Balotelli, and then stood over him before the pair went head-to-head. Each saw yellow.

Another Sakho, Mamadou, subbed on for Liverpool in the 22nd minute as Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers acted quickly to try and bring his team back into the match. The Reds went to three backs, and to work.

Stirling made Liverpool’s first shot on target count, latching onto a Balotelli rebound and firing it by Adrian to make it 2-1.

Dejan Lovren left the match in the 39th minute after going head-to-head with teammate Sakho. He was badly shaken up and nearly stretchered off, but had his head taped up and was controversially allowed to continue.

WATCH THE SECOND HALF LIVE ON NBC AND ONLINE VIA LIVE EXTRA

LINEUPS
West Ham United: Adrian, Cresswell, Reid, Tomkins, Demel, Noble, Song, Kouyate, D. Sakho, Downing, Valencia.

Goals: Reid (2'), D. Sakho (7')

Subs: Zarate, Vaz Te, Jenkinson, Collins, Amalfitano, Jaaskelainen, Cole

Liverpool: Mignolet, Manquillo (M. Sakho, 22'), Moreno, Lovren, Skrtel, Gerrard, Henderson, Lucas, Sterling, Borini, Balotelli.

Goal: Stirling (26')

Subs: Jones, Toure, Enrique, Markovic, Lallana, Lambert

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