That’s five wins in a row for Liverpool, but they should give a bit of credit to Own Goal, who knocked in at least two, and possibly three, of the hosts’ four goals. The manner of the win will likely matter little to the Reds, however, as they’ll simply be celebrating the fact that they’ve pulled into third place.
West Ham, meanwhile, are feeling the pressure, sitting outside the relegation zone only thanks to a superior goal difference to Crystal Palace.
Both Liverpool and West Ham were sprightly in the first half, putting pressure on the opposing defense and looking for any chance to slip the ball into the back of the net. However, it took until the 42nd minute for Liverpool to break the deadlock. They’d had a good chance less than two minutes before, when Philippe Coutinho sent in a perfectly weighted ball for Raheem Sterling. The youngster probably should’ve went around Jussi Jääskeläinen, but instead placed his shot wide.
Sterling’s blushes faded, however, when Guy Demel put the ball into the back of his own net. Jääskeläinen managed to push away a sharp shot from Luis Suárez but Demel, running in to attempt to stop the damage, couldn’t put the brakes on fast enough, and wound up knocking in an own goal.
It looked like Own Goal scored another just after the restart. Steven Gerrard sent in a free kick that floated toward the far post, and, after some confusion at the back, it appeared as though West Ham defender James Collins had got the last touch. In the end, though, it was ruled that the ball came off the knee of Mamadou Sakho.
Own Goal definitely did score the third, however, and this time, it was in West Ham’s favor. Demel was involved again, sending in his cross for Matt Jarvis to get a touch. It was Martin Skrtel, however, who managed to turn the ball past Simon Mignolet and into the back of his net.
But there were no questions as to who grabbed Liverpool’s third goal. Who else, but Suárez? For his 81st minute goal, the Uruguayan, lurking by the far post, got on the end of a lovely cross from Glen Johnson to head in from close range.
Less than two minutes later, it went from bad to worse for West Ham. Captain Kevin Nolan lost his temper and, frustrated, stuck his studs in the back of Jordan Henderson’s calf. It was a straight red for the midfielder, who managed to make the task even more difficult for his struggling club.
Sure enough, the visitors then conceded a fourth, and again, it was down to Own Goal -- although the beautiful footwork of Luis Suárez certainly created this one. The dancing feet of the forward turned Mark Noble inside out before Suárez fired off his shot. This time the ball took an important deflection off Joey O’Brien, wrongfooting Jääskeläinen and preventing him from stopping the goal.
Despite the victory, Liverpool can’t rest entirely easy. In the 56th minute, Steven Gerrard pulled up clutching his hamstring, and immediately signaled to the bench for a substitution. Already missing Daniel Sturridge, the Reds really don’t want to be without their captain.
Liverpool : Mignolet, Flanagan (Kelly 79), Sakho, Skrtel, Johnson, Allen, Gerrard (Lucas 56), Henderson, Sterling (Moses 72), Coutinho, Suárez
Subs not used: Jones, Cissokho, Alberto, Aspas
West Ham United : Jääskeläinen, Demel, McCartney, Collins, Tomkins (O’Brien 56), Noble, Diame, Nolan, Downing (J. Cole 46), Jarvis (Taylor 84), Maiga
Subs not used: Adrian, Collison, Diarra, C.Cole