Hammers grant Salah the freedom of east London

Liverpool 5-0 West Ham
by Paul Donovan
at the London Stadium

WEST HAM seemed to grant Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah the freedom of east London on Sunday, as it was the Egyptian who ran the game.

Having held out against initial Liverpool pressure West Ham capitulated easily in the first half.

The home side had an early chance, when Jarrod Bowen wriggled free to slide the ball across the area for the incoming Lucas Paqueta to put into the side netting.

Cody Gakpo then set up Salah but Alphonse Areola saved at his feet.

Luis Diaz then had a shot pushed over by Areola.

The league leaders finally took the lead on the half hour, when Diaz picked the ball up in the middle. His first effort fortuitously came back off Vladimir Coufal, allowing Diaz to drive home.

West Ham’s best chance came from Mohammed Kudus, whose weaving run finished with a shot, which beat keeper Alisson, hit the post and went across the goal.

West Ham then switched off. A long ball from Alexis Mac Allister was played to Salah, who went past the defender, crossing for Gakpo to fire home.

West Ham’s horror half was completed as Mac Allister found Curtis Jones, who fed Salah. The Liverpool winger swept home under Areola, who should have done better.

After the break Trent Alexander Arnold quashed any chance of a West Ham revival, driving home from 20 yards out — the ball taking a deflection off Max Kilman en route to goal.

West Ham’s best chance of the half fell to Kudus, who headed against the bar.

The same player then saw his cross headed wide by Aaron Wan Bissaka.

Liverpool’s fifth came when Salah ran through the middle to lay on an easy finish for Diogo Jota.

West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui tried to shuffle his pack with substitutions but all to no avail.

One of the substitutes, Luis Guilherme, did manage to graze the post with a deflected shot in the dying moments of the game.

Lopetegui accepted his team were playing one of the best teams in the world “but we have to do better.”

The West Ham manager felt the visitors destroyed his team in a 15-20-minute period. “We are looking to improve ourselves,” said Lopetegui.

A happy Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, confirmed that this was the way he wants to see his team play in away games.

“We were so dominant we could manage West Ham and the crowd,” said Slot.

“It was good for us to have a game, where it was clear we would win throughout.”

That is 10 goals Liverpool have scored against West Ham in two games this season, with the home league return still to come.