Match Report
Goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo secured Liverpool a 2-0 win away at West Ham United on Sunday.
Isak opened the scoring on the hour mark at London Stadium, representing his first strike in the Premier League for the Reds.
The hosts were then reduced to 10 men in the 83rd minute, when Lucas Paqueta was sent off for receiving two yellow cards in quick succession, before Gakpo wrapped up the points with a stoppage-time finish.
The result meant Arne Slot's men arrested a three-match losing run in all competitions.
Team news
Alisson Becker and Florian Wirtz returned from illness and injury respectively, while there was a first league start of 2025-26 for Joe Gomez.
Isak came in for Hugo Ekitike, who began on the bench after his back complaint against PSV Eindhoven in midweek.
First half
A period of applause was held ahead of kick-off in memory of West Ham great Billy Bonds, following his passing at the age of 79 on Sunday morning.
There was a relatively tame beginning to the match and it took 21 minutes for the first clear-cut chance to be created.
After Gakpo did well to head a Gomez delivery back across goal, an opportunity opened up for Isak. His close-range hit on the swivel was batted away by goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
The only other notable moments before that were an Isak curler that was way off target and Virgil van Dijk's header from a corner flying wide.
Wirtz will have felt he should have given Liverpool a lead to take into half-time.
Six minutes before the interval, a Van Dijk launch into the West Ham penalty area was brought down by Gakpo and nudged into the path of Wirtz, whose side-foot effort was saved low by Areola.
A threatening Gomez cross from the right channel, in search of Isak, required intervention from Areola in the closing stages.
Second half
The Reds would go ahead 15 minutes into the second period and came in the aftermath of a long throw-in of theirs into the Hammers' box.
Wirtz picked up the attempted clearance and slid the ball into Gakpo, who proceeded to hook it into a central area.
Isak was stationed in the right place to convert with a first-time finish, in what turned out to be his final meaningful contribution to the affair.
His replacement, Ekitike, went close with a curling shot from distance a few minutes after being introduced.
Now in front, the three points and a clean sheet were the objectives for Liverpool.
West Ham, down a player after Paqueta's sending-off, still went close to equalising towards the end with a Jarrod Bowen strike.
But the game was put beyond them two minutes into five of added-on time, Gakpo cushioning Gomez's cross and then firing into the net.
SOURCE: www.liverpoolfc.com
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