Liverpool continued their confident march towards the Premier League title with a 5-0 victory over West Ham at the London Stadium.
Arne Slot's side produced an authoritative performance in London to extend their lead at the top of the table to eight points, with rivals Chelsea and Arsenal still to play.
The Reds were the dominant force from the first whistle and took the lead with a clinical finish from Luis Díaz. Cody Gakpo continued his impressive form and doubled the lead in the 40th minute before Mohamed Salah effectively ended the match before the break.
The visitors continued their attack in the second half and made it four thanks to a deflected shot from Trent Alexander-Arnold before Diogo Jota added the finishing touch late on.
Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui will be disappointed his team never turned up. Except for the energetic Mohammed Kudus, who hit the inside of the post when Liverpool's lead was just one, and Alphonse Areola, who kept the scoreline respectable, very few local stars covered themselves in glory.
Mail Sport's LEWIS STEELE watched the performers at the London Stadium closely.
Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table after the victory against West Ham.
Mohamed Salah continued his amazing form this season with a goal and two assists in the win.
Luis Díaz gave Arne Slot's team a good start with a good shot in the 30th minute
WEST HAM (4-5-1)
Alfonso Areola – 4.5
A great start to the game with great saves to deny Salah and Jones in the first 15 minutes, but the substitute goalkeeper was beaten too easily for at least two of Liverpool's goals.
Vladimir Coufal – 5
Perhaps he was unlucky to see the ball deflect away from him and give Díaz the visiting team's first goal, but Coufal looked long-legged against the Colombian and Gakpo on the left side.
Konstantinos Mavropanos – 5
No West Ham player came out of this match with much credit and Mavropanos was one of many who struggled against Liverpool's electric forwards.
Max Kilman – 5
Bad luck as Alexander-Arnold's goal deflected off his backside, but overall a bad night for Kilman.
Alphonse Areola made a couple of good saves to keep Liverpool to five goals, but he could have done better with two of the visitors' goals.
Lucas Paquetá remained virtually anonymous during the clash as his team suffered a demoralizing defeat.
Aaron Wan Bissaka – 4.5
To begin with, he was deployed on the left of the defense and Salah gave him an almighty test. Wan-Bissaka did not approach the Liverpool player.
Muhammad Jerusalem – 5.5
He came closest to any man in claret and blue when he hit the post from distance, but was otherwise ineffective.
Lucas Paqueta – 5
He slipped after five minutes when Bowen took advantage of a mistake by Robertson and put an inviting ball into the penalty area. How different the match would have been if Paquetá had not lost his balance. Too passive without the ball.
Edson Alvarez – 4
Invaded and disoriented in the midfield battle. West Ham were beaten too easily and Alvarez was substituted at half-time.
Carlos Soler – 5
Another Hammers man who struggled in the middle with Mac Allister and Gravenberch often darting through the central areas with ease.
Emerson – 4.5
If Salah had had a bit of luck on his side, he would have finished with a hat-trick and Emerson had a torrid time trying to control the Egyptian.
Mohammed Kudus was the Hammers' most threatening player and came close to equalizing in the first half.
West Ham's problems were compounded by the injury to captain Jarrod Bowen in the second half.
Jarrod Bowen – 5
Poor Bowen barely saw the ball and his team couldn't play through Liverpool's pressure. He almost created a golden opportunity in the first few minutes, but soon after he did.
Substitutes
Niclas Fullkrug (by Álvarez, 46min) – 5
Jean-Clair Todibo (by Coufal, 46) – 5
Crysencio Summerville (by Bowen, 60) – 7
Andy Irving (by Soler, 73) – 5.5
Luis Guilherme (by Kudus, 81)
Not used: Foderingham, Cresswell, Ings, Irving, Scarles.
Manager
Julen Lopetegui – 4
His team was a real mess and played too easily. The result could have been even worse than it was.
Liverpool (4-2-3-1)
Alisson Becker – 6
They could have given him the week off. Leicester only had one shot on target on Boxing Day and West Ham had none here. Nothing to do so hard to give it a good grade!
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7.5
His strike was helped on its way by a great deflection from Kilman, but he would have been fine with scoring. Another positive Liverpool Scouser performance in the team.
Joe Gomez – 6
Bad luck for Gómez that his evening ended early after he was taken off injured in the 37th minute. It looked like he had twisted a hamstring.
Virgil van Dijk – 6.5
He had little to do defensively but was key in initiating attacks with his increasingly better distribution.
Trent Alexander-Arnold scored his first Premier League goal of the season in a match in which he continued to show his defensive improvement.
Alexis Mac Allister dominated midfield in a performance that won't grab the headlines but was crucial to Liverpool's victory.
Andy Robertson – 7
A careless loss of possession early on gave Paqueta a chance, but after that he made no mistake and was a constant presence in the attack.
Ryan Gravenberch – 7
He rarely loses the ball and is key out of possession. He rested and was replaced just before the hour mark. Well deserved for Liverpool's breakout star of the season.
Alexis MacAllister – 8
It won't grab the headlines, but it will be another majestic performance from Liverpool's mercurial Argentine. A threat without the ball and a game that constantly progresses when in possession.
Mohamed Salah extended his lead in the race for the Golden Boot and gave two more assists
Cody Gakpo scored his third goal in four Premier League games before leaving on the hour mark.
Mohamed Salah – 9 (MOTM)
A sublime assist for Gakpo and a clever finish to score himself. There are eight consecutive seasons in which he has scored 20 goals, this time in only 26 games, exactly the same as in 2017-18, when he scored 44 in total. Fascinating assist for Jota's goal. The sky is the limit for his numbers this season.
Curtis Jones – 8
He buzzed around the pitch like a constant source of energy and was very dangerous for Liverpool, who were unlucky not to score.
cody steel
He started his Liverpool career on fire, but this is his best run since then. Gakpo is enjoying a good campaign and added another goal to his tally here. I almost created a few more with a clever game of linking.
Luis Diaz – 8
I love playing as number 9 and his shot 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 performance with Slot.
Substitutes
Diogo Jota (by Gakpo, 57min) –
See Endo (for Gravenberch, 57) – 6.5
Kostas Tsimikas (by Robertson, 73) – 6
Harvey Elliott (by Jones, 73) – 6
Not used: Kelleher, Danns, Elliott, McConnell, Nunez, Quansah, Tsimikas.
Arne Slot's men have a good part of a week to prepare for their next clash against Manchester United
Manager
Arne Slot – 8
He finished 2024 on a supreme level. Who knows what will happen in 2025 (and how many trophies this team will win), but the foundation for success couldn't be much better.
Referee
Antonio Taylor – 7