West Ham 0-5 Liverpool: Reds hit five past sorry Hammers to extend lead at the top of Premier League
Liverpool concluded the year 2024 with a commanding 5-0 triumph over West Ham United at the London Stadium, thereby extending their unbeaten streak across all competitions to 23 matches and establishing an eight-point advantage at the top of the Premier League standings.
West Ham entered this match with an unbeaten streak of four games, enjoying their best form under manager Julen Lopetegui. However, it quickly became evident that they were significantly outclassed in this encounter.
The visitors displayed relentless offensive pressure, with Alphonse Areola making a series of impressive early saves to thwart attempts from Mohamed Salah, Curtis Jones, and Luis Díaz.
The hosts' defense was eventually breached in the 30th minute under somewhat fortunate circumstances, as an interception by Vladimír Coufal on a through ball intended for Díaz inadvertently fell back to the Colombian, who capitalized by slotting the ball home at the near post.
The only solace for the home supporters following a dominant first half was the fact that Liverpool had conceded at least two goals in each of their last four Premier League away matches. This vulnerability nearly came to light when Joe Gomez was forced to leave the field due to injury, as Mohammed Kudus unleashed a powerful shot from distance, only to be denied by the post.
In a display of typical ruthlessness, Arne Slot’s side quickly doubled their advantage. Salah orchestrated the play, skillfully maneuvering past Konstantinos Mavropanos before threading a pass through the legs of Max Kilman to Cody Gakpo, who finished with precision for his second consecutive goal.
Salah capped off a dominant first-half display with a goal in the 44th minute, beating Areola at his near post and bringing his season tally to 20 across all competitions.
This marked the eighth occasion this season that Salah has both scored and assisted in the same Premier League match, setting a new record for the competition. This was a troubling indication for West Ham, especially considering that Liverpool had scored at least two goals after halftime in six of their previous eight league matches.
The Egyptian player once again found himself in a one-on-one situation just two minutes after the second half commenced, yet Areola remained resolute, preventing the Reds' key player from securing a second goal.
However, the West Ham goalkeeper was unable to respond to Trent Alexander-Arnold’s attempt shortly thereafter, as the full-back’s long-distance shot took a significant deflection off Kilman before finding the net.
Slot was even able to rest key players such as Ryan Gravenberch and Gakpo in anticipation of their upcoming match against Manchester United.
The substitutes brought considerable talent to the field, with Diogo Jota initially thwarted in his attempt to score Liverpool’s fifth by another impressive save from Areola, only to finally overcome the French goalkeeper in the 84th minute, adding further distinction to another commanding display by the Premier League title contenders.
Achieving a 15th victory in their last 19 encounters serves as an ideal preparation for their highly anticipated clash with United next week, while West Ham will aim to quickly recover after experiencing only their second defeat in the last seven home games.
SportsLigue