Liverpool FC continue to dominate at the top of the Premier League. On Sunday evening, the Reds beat West Ham United 5-0 thanks to a masterful performance.
Liverpool have only lost once this season and have won three in a row in their last three games. Despite a tight schedule, West Ham manager Arne Slot did not make any major rotations, with only Luis Diaz coming in for Darwin in comparison to the 3-1 home win against Leicester. On the other hand, Julen Lopetegui did not use Füllkrug, who initially sat on the bench.
The first 30 minutes of the game were fairly evenly poised with the Hammers even creating the first chance of the game through Paqueta in the 6th minute. On the counterattack, however, the Reds should have taken the lead when Areola made a fine save from Salah in the 7th minute. The Frenchman was subsequently twice more on hand to save from Salah (16′) and Luis Diaz (23′), but was powerless after half an hour when the Colombian played an unintentional one-two with a teammate and then shot low into the left corner.
West Ham didn’t hide after conceding and were unlucky that Kudus’s long-range shot hit the post (39′). But Liverpool found scoring easier that evening, with the league leaders stretching the gap to 3-0 before half-time through Gakpo (40′) and Salah (44′). The game was thus decided early.
Alexander-Arnold is also allowed to
Lopetegui brought Füllkrug in for the second half, but the Reds had the first chance after the restart – Salah was left unmarked in front of Areola but failed to score the 4-0 (48.). However, this did come a little later when Alexander-Arnold’s long-range shot took a crucial deflection (54.).
West Ham at least managed not to fall apart completely in the aftermath. But that was mainly due to Salah, who missed further high-profile chances (67th, 77th). The hosts were not granted a goal of their own that evening either, with Kudus’s header in minute 76 once again hitting the woodwork. Shortly before the end, the LFC then increased the final score again, with substitute Diogo Jota scoring with a shot on the turn to make it 5-0.
Liverpool thus continue to lead the way in the league by a comfortable margin. Liverpool face a clash with their great, but struggling rivals, Manchester United, in a week’s time. West Ham are guests at Manchester City the day before (Saturday, January 4, 4 p.m.).
