Liverpool 3 West Ham 1
Jurgen Klopp’s side welcomed West Ham to Anfield with the pair having enjoyed good starts to the season. Both sides had got off to winning starts in Europe only days earlier and will have gone into this match with confidence running high.
West Ham created the first chance of the game as Antonio bundled his way through the Liverpool defence before Paqueta’s cross found Soucek unmarked, whose header was brilliantly saved in the bottom corner by Alisson Becker.
Soucek then turned provider when he found Antonio in the box, again unmarked, but he got his header all wrong and failed to even get his effort on target. Terrible miss.
Darwin Nunez did well to win the ball back in his own half before neatly flicking the ball into the path of Luis Diaz, running into the box looking for the return but his pass was deflected into the path of Mohamed Salah.
Credit: @premierleague
As he sidestepped the defender, he was caught by a trailing leg and went to ground. Penalty. Salah stepped up and drilled the ball straight down the middle of the goal. Liverpool were suddenly one-nil up, largely against the run of play.
Just before half-time West Ham attacked as Coufal got forward and clipped a cross into the box where Jarrod Bowen met it with a sublime diving header, deftly heading it into the bottom corner of the Liverpool goal.
Szoboszlai then played a cross to the back post where Curtis Jones thumped the ball home, only to be denied by the linesman’s flag but the replay showed that the midfielder had made his move a little too early on this occasion.
West Ham won a free kick in the corner in the second half which was crossed to find Bowen with a free header but as he headed it down, it was straight into the arms of the Liverpool keeper. It was a far easier chance than the one he scored earlier.
Alexis Mac Allister then picked the ball up in the middle of the park and played a sublime ball over the West Ham defence to find Darwin Nunez who volleyed his effort past Areola to make it two-one to Jurgen Klopp’s side. Brilliant finish as the South Americans combined.
Substitute Cody Gakpo then produced a ‘Marseilles turn’ in the corner of the pitch to win Liverpool a corner off Coufal. The delivery was met by Van Dijk who headed it towards the back post where Diogo Jota slotted the ball home to make it three-one.
Credit: @premierleague
The goal from the Portuguese striker sealed the win and put Liverpool second in the table, behind Man City, with their unbeaten start to the season intact. West Ham will feel they gave a good account of themselves and if they had been more clinical with their finishing, on another day, it could have been a different scoreline.
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