Liverpool continued their confident march to the Premier League title with a 5-0 win over West Ham at the London Stadium.
Arne Slot’s side produced an authoritative performance in London to extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points, with rivals Chelsea and Arsenal still to play.
The Reds were the dominant force from the first whistle and took the lead from Luis Diaz’s clinical finish. Cody Gakpo continued his impressive form and doubled the lead in the 40th minute before Mohamed Salah effectively ended the contest before half time.
The visitors continued their onslaught in the second half and grabbed a fourth through Trent Alexander-Arnold’s deflected effort before Diogo Jota added the finishing touch late on.
Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui will be disappointed his side never really turned up. Save for the energic Mohammed Kudus, who struck the inside of the post when Liverpool’s lead was only one, and Alphonse Areola, who kept the scoreline respectable, precious few home stars covered themselves in glory.
Mail Sport’s LEWIS STEELE cast a watchful eye over the performers at the London Stadium.
Liverpool restored their commanding lead at the top of the Premier League table after victory against West Ham
Mohamed Salah maintained his startling form this season with a goal and an assist in the win
Luis Diaz got Arne Slot’s side off to the perfect start with a well taken finish in the 30th minute
WEST HAM (4-5-1)
Alphonse Areola – 4.5
A great start to the match with big saves to deny Salah and Jones inside the first 15 minutes but the stand-in keeper was beaten far too easily for at least two of Liverpool’s goals.
Vladimir Coufal – 5
Perhaps unlucky to see the ball deflect off him and tee up Diaz for the away side’s opener but Coufal looked leggy against the Colombian and Gakpo on the left side.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5
No West Ham player came out of this game with much credit and Mavropanos was one of many to struggle against Liverpool’s electric forwards.
Max Kilman – 5
Hard luck as Alexander-Arnold’s goal deflected in off his backside but a poor evening overall for Kilman.
Alphonse Areola produced a couple of fine stops that kept Liverpool but could have down better two of the visitor’s strikes
Lucas Paqueta was largely anonymous during the clash as his side suffered a demoralising loss
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 4.5
Deployed on the left of defence to start with and Salah gave him an almighty test. Wan-Bissaka did not get near the Liverpool man.
Mohammed Kudus – 5.5
Came the closest of any man in claret and blue when he rattled the post from distance but ineffective otherwise.
Lucas Paqueta – 5
Slipped after five minutes when Bowen capitalised on a Robertson error and put an inviting ball into the penalty area. How different the game might have been if Paqueta had not lost his footing. Too passive off the ball.
Edson Alvarez – 4
Overran and disorientated in the midfield battle. West Ham were played through far too easily and Alvarez was taken off at half-time.
Carlos Soler – 5
Another Hammers man who struggled in the middle with Mac Allister and Gravenberch often skipping through central areas with ease.
Emerson – 4.5
If Salah had a bit of luck on his side he would have ended up with a hat-trick and Emerson had a torrid time trying to keep tabs on the Egyptian.
Mohammed Kudus was the Hammers’ most threatening player and came close to equalising in the first half
Jarrod Bowen – 5
Poor Bowen barely saw any of the ball with his team unable to play through Liverpool’s press. Nearly created a golden chance in the first minutes but did little after that.
Substitutes
Niclas Fullkrug (for Alvarez, 46min) – 5
Jean-Clair Todibo (for Coufal, 46) – 5
Crysencio Summerville (for Bowen, 60) – 7
Andy Irving (for Soler, 73) – 5.5
Luis Guilherme (for Kudus, 81)
Not used: Foderingham, Cresswell, Ings, Irving, Scarles.
Manager
Julen Lopetegui – 4
His team were a royal mess and played through far too easily. Score could have been even worse than it was.
Trent Alexander-Arnold grabbed his first Premier League goal of the season in a match where he continued to show his defensive improvement
Alexis Mac Allister bossed the midfield in a performance that will not grab headlines but was crucial to Liverpool’s win
LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1)
Alisson Becker – 6
Could have been given the week off. Leicester had just one shot on target on Boxing Day and West Ham had zero here. Nothing to do so hard to give him a good mark!
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7.5
His strike was helped on its way from a big deflection off Kilman but it would have felt good for him to score. Another positive performance from Liverpool’s Scouser in the team.
Joe Gomez – 6
Hard luck for Gomez to see his evening end early after being taken off injured with just 37 minutes on the clock. It looked like he tweaked a hamstring.
Virgil van Dijk – 6.5
Had little to do in a defensive sense but was key to starting attacks with his ever-improving distribution.
Andy Robertson – 7
Sloppy loss of possession early doors allowed Paqueta a chance but did not put a foot wrong after that and was a constant presence going forward.
Ryan Gravenberch – 7
Rarely loses the ball and is so key out of possession. Got a rest and was substituted just before the hour mark. Well deserved for Liverpool’s breakout star of the season.
Alexis Mac Allister – 8
Will not get the headlines but another majestic performance from Liverpool’s mercurial Argentine. A menace off the ball and constantly progressing play when he has possession.
Mohamed Salah extended restored his advantage in the Golden Boot race and provided another two assists
Cody Gakpo scored his third goal in four Premier League matches before coming off on the hour
Mohamed Salah – 9 (MOTM)
A sublime assist for Gakpo and deft finish to score himself. That’s eight seasons in a row he has scored 20 goals – taking just 26 games this time, the exact same as in 2017-18 when he hit 44 overall. Spell-binding assist for Jota’s goal. Sky’s the limit for his figures this term.
Curtis Jones – 8
Buzzed around the pitch as a constant source of energy and was so dangerous for Liverpool, unlucky to not get on the score-sheet.
Cody Gakpo – 8
Started his Liverpool career on fire but this is his best purple patch since then. Gakpo is enjoying a fine campaign and added another goal to his tally here. Nearly created a few more with shrewd link-up play.
Luis Diaz – 8
Loving playing as a No 9 and his finish after 30 minutes was thunderous. Is just one goal away from equalling his tally from last season – which says a lot about how the Colombian has improved his output under Slot.
Substitutes
Diogo Jota (for Gakpo, 57min) – 7
Wataru Endo (for Gravenberch, 57) – 6.5
Kostas Tsimikas (for Robertson, 73) – 6
Harvey Elliott (for Jones, 73) – 6
Not used: Kelleher, Danns, Elliott, McConnell, Nunez, Quansah, Tsimikas.
Arne Slot’s side have the best part of a week to prepare for their next clash against Manchester United
Manager
Arne Slot – 8
Ended 2024 on a supreme high. Who knows what will happen in 2025 – and how many trophies this team will win – but the foundations for success could not be much better.
Referee
Anthony Taylor – 7
