Liverpool Survives West Ham Scare to Keep Champions League Dreams Breathing

Liverpool maintained their pursuit of Champions League qualification with a hard-fought 5–2 triumph against West Ham United.

Set-piece strikes from Hugo Ekitiké, Virgil van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister provided what became an unassailable advantage in the opening period, before a tense second half saw Liverpool clinging on at moments. Cody Gakpo's strike bookended well-earned goals from Tomáš Souček and Taty Castellanos, before Axel Disasi's unfortunate own goal sealed the victory.

Arne Slot's team now trail Aston Villa in third place by merely three points and will be monitoring both Manchester United and Chelsea's matches on Sunday, hoping for another lift to their European ambitions.

One Thing We Can't Ignore

One Thing We Can't Ignore

The emphatic final score makes it tempting to believe this was a commanding display from Liverpool. In truth, it doesn't reveal the complete picture.

Liverpool were, yet again, vulnerable defensively and disconnected in their offensive play, especially struggling on the flanks, where Cody Gakpo remained subdued apart from his strike and Mohamed Salah was frequently a bystander. Creating opportunities was scarce and Liverpool had to rely predominantly on set-piece strikes instead.

Their opening to the second period will be particularly worrying. Once more, Liverpool began sluggishly and were instantly punished by West Ham, who controlled significant portions of this match after halftime but simply lacked the finishing touch to capitalize.

Was this a poor showing? Certainly not. Liverpool earned the win, without question, but they benefited from a struggling West Ham side that could have easily extracted more from this encounter with slightly better execution.

Liverpool Player Ratings vs. West Ham (4-2-3-1)

Liverpool Player Ratings vs. West Ham (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: Alisson—6.9: Escaped punishment for a careless pass during the first half that almost allowed West Ham back into contention. Made an excellent stop to deny Crysencio Summerville in the closing stages.

RB: Joe Gomez—6.3: Looked uneasy defensively as he battled to contain the energetic Summerville. Fired an uncontrolled effort wide just before halftime, clearly unfamiliar with finding himself in such attacking positions.

CB: Ibrahima Konaté—7.0: A commanding first-half display was undermined almost instantly after the interval with a weak header that led to Tomáš Souček's goal. Eventually regained his composure.

CB: Virgil van Dijk—7.9: Composed defensively and climbed highest to nod home Liverpool's second from a straightforward corner kick.

LB: Milos Kerkez—6.8: Appeared close to his Bournemouth form with an aggressive attacking display. Made overlapping runs with tremendous energy.

DM: Ryan Gravenberch—7.8: Began brightly with a clever assist for Ekitiké's opener, but delivered a somewhat inconsistent performance. The Dutch midfielder showed some brilliant moments but committed several concerning errors that suggested a lack of composure.

DM: Alexis Mac Allister—7.6: Converted his chance with genuine class as he displayed glimpses of his finest form. Wasn't always as influential as desired and registered among his team's lowest for ball touches.

RM: Mohamed Salah—6.7: Remarkably subdued except for a few runs down the right flank. Struggled significantly to impact the match and observed as most of Liverpool's attacking threat emerged from the left side.

AM: Dominik Szoboszlai—7.7: Relished returning to his preferred role. Delivered several exquisite passes but his assist came from a basic corner delivery.

LM: Cody Gakpo—7.8: Another understated performance from the Dutch winger, whose goal represented one of few bright attacking moments.

ST: Hugo Ekitiké—9.0: A superb early finish and two straightforward assists significantly elevated Ekitiké's rating. Not consistently involved but maximized his limited chances.

SUB: Rio Ngumoha (76' for Ekitiké)—6.4: A promising late run forced a fine save from the West Ham goalkeeper.

SUB: Jeremie Frimpong (76' for Frimpong)—6.7: Made an instant impact from the bench to cause Disasi's own goal.

SUB: Trey Nyoni (86' for Gravenberch)—N/A: Squandered a late clear-cut chance.

Subs not used: Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK), Freddie Woodman (GK), Andy Robertson, Calvin Ramsay, Curtis Jones, Federico Chiesa

What These Ratings Tell Us

What These Ratings Tell Us

The Numbers That Explain Liverpool's Scrappy Win

The Numbers That Explain Liverpool's Scrappy Win