West Ham United 1-3 Liverpool: Mohamed Salah double sends Reds third

Mohamed Salah’s two goals were his first in the Premier League since a double in a 7-0 win at Crystal Palace

Mohamed Salah scored a brilliant double at West Ham United for the first time in seven Premier League games to put Liverpool in third place.

A strikingly quick change and a curling finish by the Egyptian striker rewarded the Reds with a good start into the second half after Jürgen Klopp’s team had not found an advantage in the first half.

Salah scored a dazzling counterattack in Liverpool 11 minutes later to double his side’s lead and instantly controlled Xherdan Shaqiri’s loop pass over the top before shooting past Lukasz Fabianski.

Without the injured Sadio Mane and with Roberto Firmino on the bench, Salah was committed to ending his mini-drought and he got away with it in style.

Firmino came off the bench to prepare Georginio Wijnaldum for a solid third place at Liverpool before Craig Dawson turned a corner home to give West Ham some consolation.

Liverpool’s second win in London in four days shortened the lead on one-game leaders Manchester City to four points before the two sides meet at Anfield next Sunday.

Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp wonders about Mohamed Salah’s goal control at West Ham

Klopp’s decisions pay off

With Firmino excluded from Liverpool’s starting grid, eyebrows were raised as Senegalese striker Mane was absent with a minor muscle injury.

A toothless performance in the first half, with Liverpool’s only goal being a 20-yard Salah hit straight at Fabianki, suggested the reigning champions suffered from the lack of two of their famous top three as well as the injured Diogo Jota.

But Klopp’s introduction of Curtis Jones off the bench early in the second half proved to be a game changer as the young playmaker played neatly at Salah opener.

His rapid run through the middle of the field put West Ham on his backfoot and after exchanging passes with Trent Alexander-Arnold, he found Salah to make way for Aaron Cresswell before rolling the ball past Fabianski.

Liverpool’s second goal was even easier on the eye. Shaqiri received a diagonal cross field ball from Alexander-Arnold before selecting Salah with a first pass when the guests broke out of a hammer corner with devastating effect.

Georginio Wijnaldum’s goal was only his second in the Premier League this season for Liverpool

Their third was just as impressive as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s brace with Firmino released the Brazilian and the substitute crossed Wijnaldum to coolly shoot home.

The goals scored after three goals in Tottenham on Thursday suggest that Liverpool are back on the attack after four games without scoring – just in time to breathe life into their title defense.

The stylish Thiago Alcantara was part of a diamond in Liverpool midfield who controlled the game throughout the game, while the inexperienced Nathaniel Phillips and midfielder Jordan Henderson, who do as well in center-back as Fabinho this season, were solid in center-back.

Liverpool’s weakened squad will have to go into shape against City on Sunday, but wins over Tottenham and West Ham mean Klopp’s side will start this game in a much better mood.

West Ham didn’t show enough serenity – David Moyes

Thin out title race?

Just four weeks ago seven points separated the top 10 After eight wins in a row, leaders City now have an eight-point lead and one game in hand over fifth-placed West Ham.

With Manchester United and Leicester losing points twice this weekend, Liverpool’s back-to-back wins in London suggest they could become the city’s most likely challengers despite their injury problems.

West Ham made a brief entry into the Champions League with Tuesday’s win against Crystal Palace, but that resounding loss is likely to give a break for any Hammers fan dreaming of a top-4 push.

David Moyes’ side came into play after six wins in all competitions but never looked like they really believed they could extend that run against the reigning champions.

Mikhail Antonio pounced on James Milner briefs for the best opening just before Salah broke the impasse, but the truth is, they were consistently the second best.

This has been a day off for Moyes’ side compared to their recent performances but their form this season gives them hope that they can realistically qualify for Europe for the first time this century.

Dawson’s consolation rewarded the hosts for not giving up but they are now winless in their last 10 games with Liverpool.

The Hammers will surely be happy to see Salah’s back for a while. The striker has scored in seven of his last eight games against them, including Liverpool’s 2-1 win at Anfield in October.

Capital gains for reds – the statistics

• Liverpool have won more Premier League games against West Ham than any other team in the competition (31), while the Hammers only lost more Premier League games against Arsenal (32) than they did against Liverpool (31).
• Liverpool (W4 D1) were the second team after Manchester City (W4 D1) to go undefeated in their five away Premier League games at the London Stadium.
• Liverpool have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League games in London (W11 D4), won their last three games in the capital and scored 13 goals in those wins.
• West Ham manager David Moyes is winless in his last 14 Premier League games against Liverpool (D4 L10) and has lost each of the last five games in a row (all with West Ham).
• Mohamed Salah became the first player to score more than 20 goals in all competitions for Liverpool in four consecutive seasons since Ian Rush did so six times from 1981-82 to 1986-87.
• Salah has scored nine Premier League goals against West Ham, his best return against a team in the competition.

What’s next?

West Ham will visit Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday (8.15pm GMT) ahead of a London derby in Fulham on Saturday (5.30pm GMT). Liverpool host Brighton on Wednesday (8.15pm GMT) before leaders Manchester City are greeted in Anfield on Sunday (4.30pm GMT).

Player of the game

Mohamed SalahMohamed Salah

West Ham United

1. Cadre number15thPlayernameDawson

2. Cadre number1PlayernameFabianski

3. Cadre number5PlayernameCoufal

4. Cadre number21stPlayernameOgbonna

5. Cadre number20thPlayernameBowen

6. Cadre number28PlayernameSoucek

7. Cadre number3PlayernameCresswell

8. Cadre number9PlayernameBenrahma

9. Cadre number30thPlayernameAntonio

10. Cadre number41Playernamerice

11. Cadre number7thPlayernameYarmolenko

12. Cadre number16PlayernameNoble

13. Cadre number24PlayernameFredericks

14. Cadre number18thPlayernameFornale

Constellations

West Ham

formation 4-2-3-1

1Fabianski

5Coufal15thDawson21stOgbonna3Cresswell

28Soucek41rice

20thBowen9Benrahma18thFornale

30thAntonio

• 1Fabianski
• 5Coufal
• 15thDawson
• 21stOgbonna
• 3Cresswell
• 28SoucekBooked at 49 minutes
• 41riceBooked at 47 minutes
• 20thBowenReplaced byFredericksat the 79 ‘protocol
• 9Benrahma
• 18thFornaleReplaced byYarmolenkoat the 62 ‘protocol
• 30thAntonioReplaced byNobleat the 79 ‘protocol

replacement

• 4thBalbuena
• 7thYarmolenko
• 10Lanzini
• 16Noble
• 23Diop
• 24Fredericks
• 25thMartin
• 31Johnson
• 45Odubeko

Liverpool

formation 4-3-1-2

1Alisson

66Alexander-Arnold47Phillips14thHenderson26thRobertson

6Thiago Alcantara5Wijnaldum23Shaqiri

7thMilner

11Not correct27Orig

• 1Alisson
• 66Alexander-Arnold
• 47Phillips
• 14thHenderson
• 26thRobertson
• 6Thiago Alcantara
• 5Wijnaldum
• 23ShaqiriReplaced byFirminoat the 69 ‘protocol
• 7thMilnerReplaced byJonesat the 57 ‘protocol
• 11Not correct
• 27OrigReplaced byOxlade-Chamberlainat the 80 ‘protocol

replacement

• 9Firmino
• 13Adrian
• 15thOxlade-Chamberlain
• 17thJones
• 18thMinamino
• 21stTsimikas
• 46R Williams
• 62Kelleher
• 76N Williams

Live text

1. End of game, West Ham United 1, Liverpool 3.

2. The second half ends, West Ham United 1, Liverpool 3.

3. Roberto Firmino (Liverpool) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

4. Foul by Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham United).

5. Goal! West Ham United 1, Liverpool 3. Craig Dawson (West Ham United) right footed shot from very close range after a corner in the lower right corner.

6. Corner, West Ham United. The corner was caused by Andrew Robertson.

7. Corner, West Ham United. The corner was caused by Curtis Jones.

8. Goal! West Ham United 0, Liverpool 3. Georginio Wijnaldum (Liverpool) right footed shot from the center of the box to the center of the goal. Prepared by Roberto Firmino.

9. Substitution, Liverpool. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Divock Origi.

10. Substitution, West Ham United. Ryan Fredericks replaces Jarrod Bowen.

11. Substitution, West Ham United. Mark Noble replaces Mikhail Antonio.

12. Missed attempt. Mohamed Salah’s left-footed shot from outside the box is high and far left. Prepared by Georginio Wijnaldum.

13. Corner of Liverpool. The corner was caused by Vladimir Coufal.

14. Offside, West Ham United. Jarrod Bowen attempts a pass, but Saïd Benrahma is caught offside.

15. Handball by Saïd Benrahma (West Ham United).

16. Substitution, Liverpool. Roberto Firmino replaces Xherdan Shaqiri.

17. Goal! West Ham United 0, Liverpool 2. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) shot with his left foot from the center of the box into the lower left corner. Assisted by Xherdan Shaqiri with a cross after a quick break.

18. Corner, West Ham United. The corner was caused by Andrew Robertson.

19. Missed attempt. Craig Dawson (West Ham United) with a try from the center of the box is up and far to the right. Assisted by Jarrod Bowen with a cross following a corner.

20. Corner, West Ham United. The corner was caused by Curtis Jones.