Liverpool continued their great run of form as they ran out 4-1 winners against West Ham at Anfield on Saturday.
Emre Çan opened the scoring in the 29th minute after arriving late in the box from a corner kick before Salah scored Liverpool’s second early in the second half. Roberto Firmino notched not long after following a great pass over the West Ham defence from Çan. Michail Antonio replied almost immediately with a goal of his own, but it proved to be a consolation after Mané scored Liverpool’s fourth late on.
Loris Karius – 7
Made a stupendous save from an equally superb Arnautovic chip early in the first half and did well to parry a strong effort a few minutes later. Possibly could have done better on Antonio’s goal, but it was a good finish from the Englishman.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
Trent’s ability continues to belie his tender age. The composure and grace of the young Scouser is truly extraordinary, and today’s match against West Ham was indicative of that.
Joël Matip – 5.5
Careless, both in and out of possession. The Cameroonian does not lack for ability, but his lack of focus will come back to bite him, eventually.
Virgil Van Dijk – 6.5
Always calm in possession, but was beaten for pace by Antonio for West Ham’s FIRST goal. Had a strong game overall, despite the lack of a clean sheet.
Andrew Robertson – 8.5
Andy Robertson continued his brilliant debut season with another top-class performance. Constantly working the left side of the pitch, he was a constant thorn in the side of both West Ham attackers and defenders but was caught out up the pitch when Antonio scored West Ham’s FIRST goal. Played a lovely ball across the face of goal for Sadio Mané to score Liverpool’s fourth of the day.
Emre Çan – 6.5
Scored the opening goal in the 29th minute. Çan nodded home from a corner, a fairly unusual method of scoring for the German midfielder. Provided the assist for Liverpool’s third goal when he chipped a lovely pass over the West Ham defence for Roberto Firmino to slot home. Despite scoring and assisting, Çan was not great, giving the ball away for Michail Antonio’s goal and was generally quite careless in possession.
James Milner – 8
Was in the wars in the first half after being on the wrong end of a few strong challenges from West Ham players. The Liverpool captain for the day managed to overcome those discomforts, however, and was involved in several promising moves throughout the match. The defensive side of Milner’s game should not be ignored, as he was constantly tracking back to help his defenders, putting in several challenges that Steven Gerrard would be proud of.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 7.5
Completely invisible in the first half, but some really impressive work in the 51st minute led to Mohamed Salah doubling Liverpool’s lead. That assist seemed to embolden him, and he was a constant presence in the middle third of the pitch for the rest of the match, culminating in some brilliant quick feet that led to Sadio Mané striking the post from close range.
Sadio Mané – 7.5
The most consistently influential of the front three in the first half, Mané combined well with Robertson down the left flank. The Senegalese winger wilted a bit in the second half but was still a determined presence on the left wing that forced Pablo Zabaleta to remain deep in his half. Somehow managed to strike the post in the 73rd minute following a brilliant pass from Oxlade-Chamberlain. He quickly redeemed himself, however, scoring from close range with a clever finish following a great cross from Andy Robertson in the 76th minute.
Roberto Firmino – 7
Would have had an assist for Mo Salah in the first three minutes if not for the post. Firmino spent the rest of the first half buzzing around the West Ham defence but was largely ineffective with his passing. The Brazilian scored his 10th goal in 14 games in the 56th minute, an easy finish following a sumptuous chipped through ball from Emre Çan.
Mohamed Salah – 7.5
Almost made a flying start to the match when he struck Adrián’s left-hand post in the third minute. Missed a headed chance from close range following a brilliant Robertson cross midway through the first half but, much like Firmino, Salah was stymied by West Ham’s low block in the first half. He made swift changes to that in the second half, though, as he doubled Liverpool’s lead in the 51st minute following good work in the middle of the pitch by Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Substitutes
Adam Lallana (82′) – Replaced Roberto Firmino. Plenty of Cruyff turns but did not have much to do with the game pretty much dead when he came on.
Alberto Moreno (87′) – Replaced Sadio Mané.
Dominic Solanke (87′) – Replaced Mohamed Salah. Almost got on the end of a through ball, but was smothered by Adrián.
