Physical Address

304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124

West Ham 0-5 Liverpool PLAYER RANKINGS: Who was majestic in Arne Slot’s midfield? | All Football


Liverpool continued their confident march towards the Premier League title with a 5-0 win over West Ham at the London Stadium.

Arne Slot’s side produced a commanding performance in London to extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points, with rivals Chelsea and Arsenal still to play for.

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 ended the contest before half-time.

The visitors continued their onslaught in the second half and grabbed a fourth through a miraculous Trent Alexander-Arnold effort before Diogo Jota added the finishing touch late on.

Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui will be disappointed that his side didn’t really come. Save for the energetic Mohammed Kudus, who hit the inside of the post when Liverpool were leading by just one, and Alphonse Areola, who kept the score respectable, precious few home stars covered themselves in glory.

Mail Sport’s LEWIS STEELE takes a closer look at the performers at the London Stadium.

WEST HAM (4-5-1)

Alphonse Areola – 4.5

A great start to the game with great saves to deny Salah and Jones within the first 15 minutes but the stand-in goalkeeper 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 grab Diaz for the away team’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

Good luck as Alexander-Arnold’s goal deflected off his back but a bad night overall for Kilman.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 4.5

Initially positioned on the left side of the defense and Salah gave him an almighty test. Wan-Bissaka did not come close to the man from Liverpool.

Mohammed Jerusalem – 5.5

He came the closest of any man in claret and blue when he created the post from distance but was otherwise ineffective.

Lucas Paqueta – 5

It slipped after five minutes when Bowen capitalized on Robertson’s mistake and delivered an inviting ball into the penalty area. How different the game could have been if Paqueta had not lost his footing. Too passive off the ball.

Edson Alvarez – 4

Too much and confused in the midfield battle. West Ham were played through far too easily and Alvarez was taken off the field 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 had a hat-trick and Emerson had a torrid time trying to keep track of the Egyptian.

Jarrod Bowen – 5

Poor Bowen hardly saw any of the ball with his team unable to play through Liverpool’s press. He almost created a golden opportunity in the first few minutes but did little after that.

Substitutes

Niclas Fullkrug (for Alvarez, 46 minutes) – 5

Jean-Clair Todibo (for Coufal, 46) – 5

Cruising 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 was a royal mess and played through far too easily. Score could have been even worse than it was.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1)

Alisson Becker – 6

He could have had the week off. Leicester only had one shot on target on Boxing Day and West Ham had zero here. Nothing so hard to give it a good mark!

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7.5

His shot was helped on its way by a great deflection off Kilman but it would have felt good for him to score. Another positive performance from the Liverpool Scouser in the team.

Joe Gomez – 6

Good luck to Gomez who saw his night come to an early end after being taken off injured with just 37 minutes on the clock. It looked like he tweaked a hamstring.

Virgil van Dijk – 6.5

He didn’t have much to do in a defensive sense but was key to starting attacks with his ever-improving distribution.

Andy Robertson – 7

A sloppy loss of possession with early doors gave Paqueta a chance but he never 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. Had a rest and was substituted just before the hour. Well deserved for the star of the season in Liverpool.

Alexis McAllister – 8

It won’t get the headlines but another grand performance from Liverpool’s mercurial Argentine. A threat off the ball and consistently plays forward when in possession.

Mohamed Salah – 9 (MOTM)

A sublime assist for Gakpo and a deft finish to score himself. That’s eight seasons in a row he has scored 20 goals – just 26 games this time, exactly the same as in 2017-18 when he hit 44 overall. A charming assist for Jota’s goal. Sky is the limit for his figures this season.

Curtis Jones – 8

He buzzed around the pitch as a constant source of energy and was so dangerous for Liverpool, unlucky not to get on the scoresheet.

Cody Steele –

He started his Liverpool career on fire but this is his best purple patch since. Gakpo is enjoying a great campaign and added another goal to his tally here. Almost created a little more with smart contact play.

Luis Diaz – 8

He really liked playing as a No 9 and his finish after 30 minutes was thunderous. He is just one goal away from equaling his tally from last season – which says a lot about how the Colombian has improved his output under Slott.

Substitutes

Diogo Jota (for Gakpo, 57 minutes) –

Endo Watch (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.

Manager

Arne Slot – 8

It ended in 2024 at its peak. 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





Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *