Commentator says Liverpool star Mohamed Salah “didn’t show up” against West Ham
Liverpool won 5-2 against West Ham at Anfield this afternoon, and there was plenty to talk about.
Liverpool 5-2 West Ham as the Reds saw seven goals
Liverpool beat West Ham in a game that was as chaotic as it was convincing.
Arne Slot’s side moved up to fifth in the Premier League and level on points with fourth-placed Man United, winning four of their last five games.
On paper, it looks like a team finding form at the right time. On the pitch, there were enough threads to keep Anfield more worried than they should have been.
Hugo Ekitiké was the star of the show. The French striker opened the scoring within five minutes, sweeping in after West Ham failed to deal with a corner.
He went on to contribute two assists and was a major creative force throughout. Virgil van Dijk doubled the lead on 24 minutes with a powerful header from Dominik Szoboszlai, and Alexis Mac Allister added a third before the break, heading into the roof of the net after Ekitike had cleverly placed the ball.
Liverpool could replace Wirtz by releasing Coutinho 2.0 in a new role
Liverpool need to find their creativity elsewhere ahead of this weekend’s Premier League clash with West Ham.
All three first-half goals came from set pieces – West Ham have already conceded a season-high 15 goals before kick-off.
The second half was worse. Tomas Soucek pulled one back within four minutes of the restart, ghosting between Liverpool’s defenders to finish from close range after El Hadji Malick Diouf’s low cross.
Build a nerve for 20 minutes.
Cody Gakpo had a wonderful chance to quickly restore the three-goal cushion but went wide from close range, prompting groans around Anfield.
He prepared for 70 minutes, cut inside and found the area below. But West Ham kept coming, and Taty Castellanos headed in a corner to make it 4-2 with 15 minutes remaining.
The game was finally closed when Jeremie Frimpong’s substitute Jeremie Frimpong’s ball was turned into his own net by Axel Disasi in the 82nd minute.
Three points, a five-goal haul, yet one man’s performance stuck in the mind for all the wrong reasons.
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s talisman, left the afternoon without leaving a mark, with one shot flying well over the bar.
The sidelines also noticed, and expressed their feelings in a straightforward manner.
Sky Sports commentator Laura Hunter captured the scene.
“Hammers fans sing that Salah is the rubbish version of Bowen, to put it politely,” said Hunter.
“He hasn’t been seen since the break.”
Jarrod Bowen, by contrast, was energetic throughout for West Ham – causing problems, forcing mistakes and threatening regularly. The difference between the two sides was clearly visible in this event.
Salah has not had a league goal since beating Aston Villa at home in November, with four assists in his last 10 league games.
Liverpool are winning, but with the £400,000-a-week player looking like his shadow in recent games, questions about what’s next will only grow as Salah approaches the twilight of his career.
The African actor signed a huge new deal last year, but his contract was extended until next summer.
Slot could finally ditch Gakpo by landing the big-money Liverpool star in a new role
Liverpool have become brilliantly fertile under Arne Slot’s management this season.
