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Liverpool moved eight points clear at the Premier League summit with a 5-0 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds’ final game of 2024 was painted in a sombre shade Mohammad Salah. Liverpool’s talisman took center-stage after Luis Diaz put the visitors ahead on 30 minutes, teasing Cody Gakpo before making himself impressive in the first half. Trent Alexander-Arnold made it 4-0 after the break as Salah set up Diogo Jota’s fifth late on.
While the Hammers offered poor resistance, Liverpool can hardly be criticized for dispatching their woeful hosts so emphatically.
How the game unfolded
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui was asked if it was “terrible” to face Liverpool Such is the side’s unpopular form ahead of Sunday’s kick-off. “Are we afraid?” replied the Spanish boss, slightly taken aback by the line of questioning. “No.” Maybe they should be.
Liverpool had West Ham Written in their own half from the first whistle. The only surprising aspect of a laughably one-sided contest that saw the Reds race into a 3-0 lead by half-time was that it took them 30 minutes to break the deadlock.
Luis Diaz finally found a way past the resilience, returning to Alphonse Arrola. Wreaking havoc from his fluid, false nine role, the Colombian drifted between the ever-widening gap that separated West Ham’s attacking line and midfield, unwittingly bouncing the ball past Vladimir Kaufal before unleashing an instinctive finish.
Salah soon got into the act. The royally in-form Egyptian had the presence of mind to drop the ball over the top for Diaz, as he was offside before collecting a cutback from his teammate. A deft pirouette – which, if deliberate, has an air of Dennis Bergkamp about it – allowed him to tee up Cody Gakpo for the game’s second goal on 40 minutes.
Liverpool’s talisman added a third on the stroke of half-time. Alexis McAllister dispossessed Carlos Soler inside West Ham’s defensive third and the ball was quickly funneled by Curtis Jones and into the stride of Salah, who slotted his 20th goal of the campaign into the bottom corner.
Lopetegui, who grew more fearful after a punishing 45 minutes, resorted to desperate damage limits. Despite the presence of an extra defensive body in a reshuffled back-five, no one in Clarets could get close to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who tore through the top of the box with a shot that ricocheted off Areola via a wicked deflection.
While Slott emptied his bench and looked to a busy January on the horizon, Diogo Jota sought to increase his personal goal tally. Latching onto another perfectly weighted pass from Salah – who else? – The Portuguese substitute turned Liverpool’s fifth of the afternoon.
Check West Ham vs Liverpool player rating here.
“We have to make our own history,” Allison told his teammates heading into this weekend’s fixture. Salah has been doing the same in every match. The timeless 32-year-old bagged his 20th goal of the campaign on Sunday – the eighth successive season in which a powerful winger (not a striker) has hit the landmark goal, something that even the great Ian Rush failed to achieve at Liverpool. .
Lopetegui may have looked untroubled in the pre-game, but he lined up with two full-backs on Salah’s preferred right wing. Neither Emerson nor Aaron Wan-Bissaka got anywhere near the Egyptian maestro during the 90 minutes. Switching to a back five for the second half, Lopetegui introduced Salah only to pierce with a new shape.
Even in the heat of the player’s emotions after scoring a goal, Alexander-Arnold found the composure to send a message with his celebration. Raising his right hand to his ear in a universal gesture for speaking too much, the soon-to-be-released agent was clearly sick of hearing about his uncertain future.
In the days leading up to Liverpool’s thrashing in London, two reports in Spain claimed that Alexander-Arnold had told the club that he Real Madrid wanted to go And it was a deal to join the La Liga champions on a free transfer next summer “90%” done.
All this swirling speculation has not affected the 26-year-old’s remarkably mature performances this season. The wandering right-back, who has carried on the handbrake for much of Slott’s reign, was given space to roam in the capital, strolling into the final third to score Diaz’s opener and Liverpool’s fourth.
However, West Ham’s poor defensive alertness would have given Alexander-Arnold enough time to see off Real Madrid’s supposed offer in the middle of the pitch before heading home his first goal of the season.
West Ham fans who were still inside the London Stadium to see Mohamed Quddus substituted in the final ten minutes of Sunday’s bruising outing offered a rapturous round of applause for their entertainer-in-chief.
It was the least worthy after plowing through alone as the singular source of any unmistakable attacking threat from a player in claret and blue. Moving away from Andy Robertson, who looked to be teetering on the brink of relegation in his eighth Liverpool season without hitting the ground running, Kudus struck the base of Alisson’s post as West Ham trailed by just a goal.
The Ghana international was again denied by the crossbar (and an offside flag) in the second half and has clanked the woodwork more times than any other Premier League player this season. Even allowing for Kudus’ minor misfires, he is West Ham’s most potent attacking force.
