West Bromwich Albion Vs. Liverpool: Halftime Score 1-0 To The Baggies

It's been a reasonably uneventful 45 minutes of play at The Hawthornes, save for the one absolutely stunning goal. It appeared as if the two sides were going to head into halftime locked up at 0-0, but Zoltan Gera scored an absolutely stellar goal just before the end of the half to put West Bromwich Albion 1-0 up on Liverpool.

Even though the Reds trail, he brightest player on the pitch for either team has been Joe Allen, who has dominated the midfield battle. It's impressive, considering that he's surrounded by Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva, while West Brom is also playing a midfield three. He's had a great debut and has been the start of everything that resembles an attack for Liverpool.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Liverpool side isn't looking too great. All of their defenders have completely misjudged headers while Gerrard, Fabio Borini and Stewart Downing have committed quite a few giveaways. West Brom has had more of the ball and more possession in the final third than anyone might have guessed, and that finally caught up with Liverpool in the 43rd minute.

A West Brom corner kick was cleared away to what looked like safety just prior to the goal, but Gera got on the end of the clearance and brought the ball down. His first touch set him up for a fantastic volley that he took with his second, and the ball whizzed by the outstretched arm of Pepe Reina to give the Baggies a lead. Without a doubt, it'll be a goal of the week candidate.