Liverpool Vs West Ham: Five-star Anfield display heaps more pressure on wobbling West Ham

Liverpool Vs West Ham produced a dominant 5-2 victory at Anfield that underlined contrasting fortunes on and off the field. The win improved Arne Slot's side's prospects of Champions League qualification while leaving West Ham facing sharper questions about relegation risk and finances.

Liverpool Vs West Ham — scoreline, standing and immediate impact

The match finished Liverpool 5-2 West Ham United, a five-goal display that moved Liverpool up to fifth in the Premier League table. The margin was far more resounding than the overall performance, but its effect on both clubs was decisive: Arne Slot's team strengthened their continental hopes while West Ham's survival prospects looked bleaker in the wake of a heavy defeat.

Set-piece mastery and key goals

Set pieces were the theme of the game. Hugo Ekitiké opened the scoring after El Hadji Malick Diouf cleared the first corner; Ryan Gravenberch returned the ball for Ekitiké, who shot early and saw the effort nestle into Mads Hermansen's bottom corner following a slight deflection off Konstantinos Mavropanos. A subsequent goal from a corner saw Virgil van Dijk head home a Dominik Szoboszlai delivery after bumping aside Soungoutou Magassa and beating Tomas Soucek to the ball — Van Dijk's second set-piece goal in three games and Liverpool's seventh of the year.

The third Liverpool goal came in the 43rd minute when Alexis Mac Allister volleyed home after a move that began with Mohamed Salah's corner, Van Dijk's near-post flick, Ekitiké's cushioned outlet and an inadvertent touch from Aaron Wan-Bissaka. That strike was the third Liverpool goal to originate from a corner and helped make the game effectively over by half-time.

From weakness to specialism: set-piece turnaround

The match highlighted a season-long turnaround at Liverpool. Poor defending and finishing from set pieces earlier in the campaign led to the departure of the set-piece coach Aaron Briggs in December. Since then the team has become a set-piece specialist: Liverpool have now scored more set-piece goals than any other team in the division, excluding penalties, in 2026, taking their total from set plays to eight for the calendar year.

West Ham reaction: flashes of quality, mounting problems

West Ham had a better expected-goals (xG) figure than Liverpool in the match and produced encouraging passages. Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville were prominent as they opened up Liverpool at times. Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen created moments of threat — Bowen’s corner dropped to Mavropanos, who scooped wildly over — and Alisson made important saves from Soucek and Bowen to keep the deficit down. Despite those efforts Nuno Espírito Santo acknowledged the difficulty of calling it a good performance but suggested there were elements to encourage in the display.

Off the pitch the visitors suffered an odd logistical mishap when their bus got stuck on a ramp while attempting to leave the team hotel. Financial context deepened concerns: Liverpool announced record overall revenue of £703m in their latest accounts, much of it ploughed back into the squad, while West Ham recorded a £104. 2m loss in the same financial year and warned that players will have to be sold this summer whether they stay up or not.

Live coverage, highlights and related items

A live text blog of the match was unavailable at one point with the message: "Sorry, this blog is currently unavailable. Please try again later. " Highlights packages and short videos accompanying the match included a full review of Liverpool scoring five in a dominant win, plus a range of related clips and features including reactions and broader football items such as:

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The match report, match footage and the surrounding coverage together underline a clear gulf between the clubs on the day: Liverpool's set-piece efficiency and clinical finishes contrasted with West Ham's defensive frailties, while off-field financial figures amplify the competitive imbalance. Recent updates indicate these dynamics are likely to shape both clubs' transfer and tactical choices heading into the summer; details may evolve.