West Ham vs Liverpool live: Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo help Reds to crucial win over 10-man Hammers
West Ham 0-2 Liverpool: Arne Slot’s champions sealed only a second top-flight win since September with Alexander Isak netting his first in the Premier League
Premier League champions Liverpool sealed a morale-boosting win over West Ham, with the pressure on Arne Slot alleviated somewhat after last weekend’s loss to Nottingham Forest was compounded by a humiliating 4-1 defeat to PSV in Europe.
Liverpool wasted numerous chances and were far from their best but ultimately enjoyed a comfortable afternoon at London Stadium, with Alexander Isak finally scoring his first top-flight goal for the Reds.
The £125m summer signing broke the deadlock in the second half, with Cody Gakpo adding a second late in stoppage time after West Ham were reduced to 10 men late on.
Talisman Lucas Paqueta utterly lost his head in bizarre scenes, repeatedly confronting referee Darren England and receiving a booking for dissent. Captain Jarrod Bowen - who wasted a brilliant chance to equalise before Gakpo’s goal - and several other players, including Liverpool’s Alisson, tried to dissuade the Brazilian but Paqueta continued to rant and was handed a second yellow and given his marching orders.
The result sees Liverpool move up to eighth, while West Ham remain 17th but are level on points with Leeds in the relegation zone.
Follow all the latest from the London Stadium below:
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Arne Slot straddling a cliff face but Liverpool reprieve shows recovery possible
Arne Slot was facing a doomsday scenario had he left London with a 10th loss in 13 games. Inspired in different ways by his £100m entities, his fight to survive at Liverpool will go on at least another gameweek.
With every game at the moment comes the risk of a new low for the reigning Premier League champions. The Reds came to the London Stadium on their worst run since 1952/53 and had also lost each of their last five away league games in the capital. Slot needed a change of fortunes on almost every front, and he received just that reprieve against a West Ham side mourning mourning the death of club icon Billy Bonds.
A full recovery is not guaranteed for the current Liverpool manager - but this is proof that Slot’s reign isn’t yet untenable.
Arne Slot straddling a cliff face but Liverpool reprieve shows recovery possible
Nuno: 'The passing of Billy Bonds affected everybody'
Nuno continues: “I think we achieved good moments in spells and reached the spaces in the final third but the decision was not as accurate as we all wished.
On Paqueta’s red card, he says: “Allow me to speak with Lucas first and try to understand why. Even with one man less the boys had a bit of fight. The spirit and the desire was there in a day that was very sad for us as a club.
“The passing of Billy Bonds affected everybody and we wanted to change the atmosphere with our actions. The boys gave it a fight so let's keep on going.”
Arne Slot: 'Isak is a top striker'
Arne Slot continues, saying Isak “is a top striker. This finish was very good. I kept him in just long enough for him to get a goal for the team and himself.”
Asked about his decision to bench Salah, he says: “We play a lot of games. In 10 days we played four. These players are such quality players. Mo has been so important for the club and will be so important for the club so let’s see what happens on Wednesday [against Sunderland].”
Arne Slot: Lack of 'gifts' to opposition team helpful
Arne Slot speaks to BBC MOTD now. He says: “A win and that was what we mainly needed and we got a clean sheet as well which is always helpful. Not giving anything away to the other team as a gift as we have done far too many times this season. The other team hardly created a chance except in the final minute through [Jarrod] Bowen.
“West Ham made it a difficult game for us but we did very well defensively. The good thing was that they only had one chance.”
Nuno: 'No way' a step backwards
Nuno continues: “It's a disappointing day. We felt we were in the game, we were controlling the game. A lack of concentration cost us.
“We fought against a good team. The final pass, the final cross wasn't there.”
Is the result a step backwards? He’s emphatic: “No way, no way. We didn't perform as well as should have. We'll bounce back."”
Nuno Espirito Santo 'going to try to understand' Lucas Paqueta's red
West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo is asked about Lucas Paqueta’s red card. He says: “I'm not going to comment too much. First of all I'm going to speak to Lucas and try to understand his frustrations and his behaviour.
“We need all the players and we are going to need them until the end of the season. Every player out, we're going to miss them.”
Arne Slot: 'We played the game I wanted us to play'
Arne Slot continues: “It helps if you don't go 1-0 down after five minutes because then you are more open. We played the game I wanted us to play.
“What I saw meant a lot to our players and our fans. The fans had to travel a long way to suport a team that has been performing poorly. On Wednesday we face Sunderland. It's a very busy schedule for everyone.
“This is a good first step for us - that we won and had a clean sheet.”
Isak's first Premier League goal 'does feel significant' - Slot
Arne Slot speaks to Sky Sports. On Alexander Isak’s first Premier League goal for Liverpool, he says: “I think it does feel significant. I wasn't planning to give him many more minutes [before taking him off].
“There's definitely a feeling of relief because if you have lost so many times then winning is important. We hardly conceded a chance. We were able to create chances ourselves. In other games we gave away a lot more than we did today.”
Mateus Fernandes: 'When Lucas was sent off it was more difficult'
West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes tells Sky Sports: “They're a good team with a lot of quality. We need to be more consistent. It was a difficult game for us. We tried to play counter-attack and did well. Second half... when Lucas was sent off it was more difficult for us.
“No, I don't think [we've gone backwards]. We have quality in the squad to win much more games.”
Liverpool beat West Ham
It was notable how Liverpool didn’t really celebrate that win; the overwhelming feeling was more of relief. Arne Slot gave the away end a double thumbs up, but looked cool and composed. It wasn’t flashy, but they got the job done.
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