West Ham United 1-3 Liverpool: Player ratings as Mohamed Salah brace seals another huge away win for champions | Premier League 2020-21
Liverpool thumped West Ham United 3-1 at the London Stadium to pick up their second consecutive Premier League win on the road and spark some life back into their campaign.
Mohamed Salah netted twice while Georginio Wijnaldum was on target too, as Craig Dawson's late effort for the Hammers was nothing more than a consolation.
The reigning Premier League champions were sluggish in the first half and failed to create many clear scoring chances. However, the dynamics of the match changed completely after the break when the visitors upped the ante and scored a trio of beautiful team goals.
The victory takes Liverpool up to third in the standings, just a point behind Manchester United, while the Hammers remain fifth.
On that note, here are the Liverpool player ratings:
Alisson - 7/10
It was going smoothly for Alisson, as he cruised towards another clean sheet, but Craig Dawson popped with a late strike to ruin his moment.
Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7/10
After his heroics against Tottenham last time, plenty was expected from Trent-Alexander Arnold, but he couldn't replicate his best. Nevertheless, he made some promising runs and made a heavenly 50-yard diagonal pass for Shaqiri in the build-up to Liverpool's second goal.
Nathaniel Phillips - 7/10
It was another great performance from Nathaniel Phillips, who continues to prove his worth to the side. His positioning was excellent, and he was pretty dominant in the air too. He won five defensive duels and made four clearances, the joint-most by a Liverpool player.
Jordan Henderson - 7/10
The Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson led by an example at the back once again and rallied his teammates with his commanding presence.
Andrew Robertson - 6/10
Andrew Robertson's delivery wasn't the best on the night while a poor flick late on allowed Dawson to pull a consolation strike back for the Hammers.
Thiago Alcantara - 7/10
The Spaniard was at his usual best; Thiago Alcantara cut open West Ham's defence with some clinical passes while also making some last-ditch tackles. He completed all five of his attempted tackles, the most by any player in the match.
Georginio Wijnaldum - 7/10
Georginio Wijnaldum was effective at the base of Liverpool's midfield diamond, making some vital interceptions and acting as a great cover to the back four. However, the Dutchman's biggest contribution came at the other end, where he drove forward to cap off a superb counter-attacking move with Liverpool's third goal.
James Milner - 7/10
The Premier League veteran James Miler was excellent in both boxes, putting up great defensive work while also getting into nice attacking positions. However, Milner was substituted a tad too soon.
Xherdan Shaqiri - 7/10
While his overall performance was just par, Xherdan Shaqiri's cross for Salah's second goal was simply out of this world.
Mohamed Salah - 8/10
Mohamed Salah was back on the scoresheet with a bang. After six league games without a goal, Salah scored twice in the second half - a sublime curler and a nonchalant chip - to seal all three points for Liverpool.
Divock Origi - 5/10
Besides one good cross for Salah and an effort that rattled the upright, Divock Origi offered precious little in the Liverpool attack. He never tried to get in behind the West Ham defence in a very poor outing.
Ratings of Liverpool Substitutes
Curtis Jones - 7/10
Within a few seconds after coming on, Curtis Jones assisted Salah's second goal after brilliantly evading West Ham's defence.
Roberto Firmino - 7/10
Like Curtis Jones, Roberto Firmino, too, registered an assist shortly after coming on, setting up Wijnaldum to add the icing on the cake.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - 6/10
It was an eventful cameo for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, as he first flicked a pass for Firmino to set up Wijnaldum and then let Dawson slip by for West Ham's late goal.