Liverpool 3 West Ham 1: Darwin Nunez scores again as Jurgen Klopp’s side extend unbeaten run to 18 games
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IT is not pretty, but the Liverpool progress train is slowly picking up speed.
This is not a vintage Jurgen Klopp side, far from it.
The defence remains vulnerable at times. The midfield rebuild is still finding its feet. The front three are not always as clinical as they should be.
And yet, for all of those concerns, the Premier League table does not lie. Five wins from six, still unbeaten, and just two points off their old rivals Manchester City at the summit.
After that 0-0 draw away at Chelsea on the opening day, one that provided more questions than answers, Klopp would have bitten your hand off for this start, by hook or by crook.
The German is not used to watching his side win this way, but right now, he does not have a choice. Every win has an element of graft, grind and grit.
It was the same against West Ham. Jarrod Bowen levelled things up before the break before Mohammed Salah’s early penalty, only for Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota to strike in the second half.
As the old adage goes: winning when you’re not playing your best is the sign of champions.
Not that Liverpool look like potential champions currently. There is work to be done, but until then, keeping chase with Pep Guardiola’s City machine is a good way to go about it.
West Ham’s start remains a positive one, but defeats to City and Liverpool have just taken the shine off. David Moyes has now failed to win at Anfield in 20 attempts.
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A big boost for Klopp saw Virgil van Dijk return in the Prem for the first time since his controversial red card away at Newcastle.
Trent Alexander-Arnold failed a late fitness test, making way for Joe Gomez at right-back with a total of eight changes from a 3-1 Europa League victory away at LASK.
Like Klopp and Liverpool this summer, Moyes has attempted to transform his squad following the £105m hole left by Declan Rice.
The Scot appears to have found a settled starting XI who have been getting big results, and stuck with it once more despite teasing at starting Ghanaian attacker Mohammed Kudus.
Instead, Bowen was chucked back in having missed mid-week due to illness.
The Kop were restless in the build-up, forced to watch referee Chris Kavanagh delay kick-off by around four minutes due to earpiece issues, and their side’s start only added to that.
Moyes knows his men should have been two goals up inside the first 15 minutes. Tomas Soucek’s close-range header forced Alisson into a world class diving stop.
Michail Antonio’s chance a few minutes later was just as good, but the header was not.
It was all going according to plan for the visitors. Klopp remarked pre-match that Moyes should stick to his principles, and that’s what he did.
Low possession – 39 per cent to be precise – lightning counters, heaps of dangerous crosses, the latter all coming from Vladimir Coufal down the right.
Klopp looked worried. Things were not clicking. Liverpool needed a spark, and in the 15th minute, they got just that, ironically with a speedy Moyes-like counter attack.
Nunez and Luis Diaz sprung from the traps. Nunez fumbled his touch, the ball bobbled into the path of Salah and the Egyptian’s footwork was too quick for Nayef Aguerd.
Soon after being chopped down, Salah was up to slot his spot-kick down the middle. His third Prem goal of the campaign.
The difference a goal makes. Dominik Szoboszlai was running midfield. Alexis Mac Allister was surging forward. West Ham were shaken.
Not even James Ward-Prowse’s usually reliable set-pieces were providing any rest bite.
Frustration kicked in. Soucek and Edson Alvarez decided to get physical, the latter earning a yellow card for his troubles. The Hammers looked desperate to get in at half-time 1-0 down.
Liverpool could sense that, pushing for a second as Salah went close, but it had the opposite effect thanks to yet another brilliant Coufal cross.
Bowen was on the end of it, superbly flicking a diving header onto the far post and in. Allison’s outstretched hand was futile.
No one in red should have been surprised. Bowen has now scored in West Ham’s last four Prem away games. On the road is where he feels is home right now.
Curtis Jones had the ball in the net just before half time, but VAR confirmed offside.
Moyes’ gameplan was working, which is why many were confused when West Ham emerged in the second half intent on sitting far too deep and inviting on Liverpool pressure.
Bowen may have had another chance with his head from a better Ward-Prowse corner, but the hosts were dominating. Nunez fluffed his lines on the penalty spot with a rush of blood before a swivelled shot.
Yet with the amount of time for Liverpool on the ball, West Ham almost fearful of stepping out, Nunez was always going to have another chance, and boy did he take it after an hour.
A delicious Mac Allister dink in between Aguerd and Kurt Zouma and the Uruguayan striker made his mark with an instinctive volley past Areola.
Finally, Nunez is consistently delivering in big moments. Moyes needed one of those to get back into the game, and he turned to Kudus off the bench.
That change did little to stem the tide. Liverpool continued knocking at the door and got their reward via a flicked corner from Van Dijk and Jota was at hand to jab home unmarked.
Another step forward for Liverpool 2.0.