Liverpool 5 West Ham 2: Was this 'thrashing' as convincing as it looked?

It was chaotic, and at times less than emphatic, but Liverpool’s upturn continued against West Ham on Saturday.

A 5-2 scoreline told half the story on an afternoon when momentum swung wildly between both sides. Liverpool had raced into a 3-0 first-half lead but showed concerning vulnerability in defence all afternoon, and were ultimately grateful to a late Axel Disasi own goal to settle their nerves.

It was their fourth win in five Premier League games and opened a three-point gap to sixth-placed Chelsea in the table.

We analyse the key moments.

This was undeniably an important victory for Liverpool. It put them level on points with fourth-placed Manchester United, who play at home to Crystal Palace tomorrow, in the race for a Champions League spot.

But Liverpool were never fully convincing, despite the 5-2 scoreline. The game often felt frantic and end-to-end, with West Ham carrying a threat on the break, through the likes of the impressive Crysencio Summerville.

Even in the first half, when Liverpool went 3-0 up, things were not quite as comfortable as they seemed. Liverpool’s xG was 0.70 in that period and West Ham had plenty of chances of their own.

Liverpool looked a little ragged and shaky when West Ham pulled a goal back to make it 3-1 early in the first half, and there were moments when the home crowd grew restless as their side struggled to keep possession.

Ultimately, a win is a win, and Liverpool’s clinical edge in attack will have pleased Arne Slot, especially given there have been plenty of occasions this season when they have let chances slip through their fingers.

But as the crunch time of the season approaches, they will know they have to tighten up in defence to maintain this momentum.

Tom Burrows

While the end of games involving Liverpool have been full of drama this season, the same cannot be said about their start to matches – especially in an attacking sense.

Ahead of the game against West Ham, Liverpool had scored only twice in the opening 20 minutes of their 27 Premier League games this season – Ryan Gravenberch’s 10th- minute strike against Everton in September and Hugo Ekitike’s first-minute goal versus Brighton & Hove Albion.

It has been a growing frustration, with slow starts and a lack of tempo increasing tension on the pitch and in the stands as it has allowed opponents to settle and build confidence.

Slot’s side did not let that theme continue against West Ham as Ekitike opened the scoring with a neat near post finish after four minutes.

It was the fourth goal Liverpool have scored in the opening five minutes in all competitions, and their second in the league. Suddenly, their record compares favourably to their league rivals: it is only bettered by Newcastle (4) and Nottingham Forest (3).

Premier League goals in first 5 mins in 2025-26

Table includes games played at 3pm (10am ET) games on Saturday.

Getting an early breakthrough can have a significant impact on the approach of the opposition and the first half quickly became more open with both sides trading chances.

The key was Liverpool continued to take theirs and built on their early lead, scoring two more goals before the break.

Andy Jones

For the first half of the season, set pieces were Liverpool’s achilles heel.

A corner for the opposition, brought a sense of inevitability. Since the start of 2026, that has completely changed and now when Liverpool get a corner there is an increasing confidence it will lead to a goal.

All three of Liverpool’s first-half goals against West Ham came from corners — just the second time that has happened in Premier League history — and reinforced the message Slot has been preaching all season about the importance of set pieces and how they are key to breaking down low blocks.

The Athletic highlighted in a piece earlier this week the subtle changes Liverpool have made to their attacking set pieces since the departure of set piece coach Aaron Briggs in December. They are aiming towards the centre of the six-yard box and taking more inswingers.

Virgil van Dijk’s goal was very similar to his goal against Sunderland, the trademark goal they are looking to score. It was an inswinging corner that he flicked on from the middle of the six-yard box.

The first and third goals were a case of keeping the ball alive into the second and third phase of the set piece.

For the first, Ryan Gravenberch kept the ball alive twice after Dominik Szoboszlai’s initial corner was headed to the edge of the box. He found Ekitike with a smart pass and the French international did the rest.

The third saw Van Dijk’s near post flick headed back to Alexis Mac Allister by Ekitike and the Argentina international volleyed home.

Alexis Mac Allister volleys in (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images)

They could have added to their tally, too, with Cody Gakpo missing a gilt-edged chance after a Joe Gomez long throw-in found its way to the back post. The Dutch international skewed a shot wide from close range.

Liverpool were, however, given a reminder that they have not solved all of their problems as West Ham’s second goal came from a corner that went through everybody. Taty Castellanos was unmarked to head home at the back post.

Andy Jones

Liverpool’s second goal of the afternoon came courtesy of a Virgil van Dijk header from a fine Domink Szoboszlai corner — his 24th top-flight goal for Liverpool and his third in six Premier League appearances.

Yet, for a few moments, there was uncertainty over whether it would stand, with the VAR checking on Joe Gomez standing in front of Mads Hermansen. The West Ham goalkeeper tried to push the Liverpool defender out the way as the ball came over, before attempting to stop Van Dijk’s header, which sailed into the corner. The goal was ultimately given by referee Tim Robinson.

The goal had shades of Van Dijk’s disallowed header away at Manchester City in November. On that occasion, the goal was controversially ruled out with City leading 1-0. Pep Guardiola’s side went on to win 3-0.

It was chalked off as it was felt Andy Robertson, positioned in front of Gianluigi Donnarumma, was deemed to have blocked the Italian goalkeeper’s line of sight. Liverpool subsequently contacted PGMOL to complain about the decision.

Howard Webb, PGMOL’s chief refereeing officer, admitted it was “no surprise” some people thought the goal should have stood, but said on Match Officials Mic’d Up that it was not “unreasonable” for the officials to have disallowed it.

On the face of it, today’s goal by Van Dijk seemed similar. Gomez was standing to Hermansen’s right, and Ibrahima Konate to his left, but neither seemed to be impeding any less than Robertson had been deemed to be against City.

The Athletic contacted the PGMOL for an explanation as to the discrepancy, but it feels like another example of the inconsistency around similar decisions that frustrates fans.

Tom Burrows

Tuesday, March 3: Wolverhampton Wanderers (Away), Premier League, 8:15pm UK, 3:15pm ET