Liverpool avoided a fourth successive defeat in all competitions by beating West Ham United 2–0 on Sunday afternoon.
The Reds started the day in the bottom half of the Premier League table, having suffered their sixth loss of the season at home to Nottingham Forest, but their triumph in east London saw them climb up to eighth.
Arne Slot was forced into bold selections calls, notably dropping Mohamed Salah in the Premier League for the first time, but they paid off. Florian Wirtz, who came in for Salah, impressed while Alexander Isak scored his first top-flight goal for the club before Cody Gakpo added a late second to ensure that the under-fire Liverpool boss escaped the London Stadium with his seat a little cooler.
In truth, a meek West Ham side were perfect opposition for the vulnerable champions, who were clinical when they needed to be in the second half after asserting total control without reward in the opening period.
Liverpool Player Ratings vs. West Ham (4-2-3-1)
GK: Alisson—7.0: The Brazilian would have appreciated the quiet outing he enjoyed on Sunday afternoon, that’s for sure.
RB: Joe Gomez—7.8: Slot handed Gomez a rare start, and the experienced English defender produced a sturdy enough showing. He even offered a final third threat in the opening period.
CB: Ibrahima Konaté—7.6: It looks like Konaté has taken Real Madrid’s transfer decision personally. The Frenchman was much more recognisable, with Callum Wilson barely having a sniff.
CB: Virgil van Dijk—7.3: Van Dijk has come under scrutiny this season, but this was a relatively simple outing for the Liverpool captain. His long balls also caused a few issues for the West Ham defence.
LB: Milos Kerkez—7.1: The summer arrival has struggled at the start of his Liverpool career, but this was a pretty serene showing down the left flank. Jarrod Bowen was kept in check for the most part.
DM: Ryan Gravenberch—7.4: The Dutchman was primarily responsible for speeding up his team’s attacks via incisive passes through the lines.
DM: Alexis Mac Allister—7.5: Bypassed too easily at times, but Mac Allister offered control in the buildup phase. Scrapped and harried.
AM: Florian Wirtz—7.2: Probably his tidiest showing in Liverpool colours to date. He carried a swagger in east London, with the German marauding and knitting things together wonderfully at times.
RW: Dominik Szoboszlai—7.4: Supplied defensive security and tireless recovery running down the right flank, and was given the license to drift infield when his side had the ball.
ST: Alexander Isak—7.7: After coming close on a couple of occasions in the first half, Isak netted his first Premier League goal for Liverpool with an excellent finish. Slot and Reds supporters will hope that it ignites his career on Merseyside.
LW: Cody Gakpo—8.7: Finished the game off in stoppage time with a well-taken goal. Had toiled without much reward for the most part, but Slot’s trust in him today paid dividends.
Subs not used: Giorgi Mamardashvili (GK), Trey Nyoni, Wataru Endo, Rio Ngumoha, Curtis Jones, Federico Chiesa, Mohamed Salah.
West Ham (4-2-3-1)
Starting XI: Alphonse Areola; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jean-Clair Todibo, El Hadji Malick Diouf; Freddie Potts, Soungoutou Magassa; Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paquetá, Mateus Fernandes; Callum Wilson.
Subs used: Luis Guilherme, Niclas Füllkrug, Tomáš Souček
Player of the Match: Cody Gakpo
West Ham 0–2 Liverpool: How It Unfolded at the London Stadium
No Salah, no problem.
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) November 30, 2025
Alexander Isak steps up when Liverpool needed him most. pic.twitter.com/zEp2UKMRYj
Salah was dropped to the bench for Sunday’s clash at a mournful London Stadium, with a slumping Liverpool hoping to avoid a fourth-straight defeat.
Arne Slot dressed the Egyptian’s rare absence from his starting XI as mere rotation, but the Dutchman clearly had a plan in place to limit West Ham’s dynamic left back El Hadji Malick Diouf from wreaking havoc. Dominik Szoboszlai was instead used in Salah’s place, while Joe Gomez also came into the team at right back.
There was no early concession from the Reds on this occasion, and, in truth, Nuno Espírito Santo’s West Ham struggled to lay a glove on the visitors at all. Callum Wilson was ineffective as the focal point, while Jarrod Bowen’s forays were limited.
Much of the first half was played in West Ham’s slice of the pitch, with Liverpool patient in the build-up but capable of injecting pace in their attacks though a penetrative forward pass. They had plenty of joy bypassing the Hammers’ midfield, with Wirtz superb.
Isak blazed over an early chance from the edge of the box, and the Swede was expertly denied by Alphonse Areola on the spin from close range.
It was arguably the best 45 minutes of football Liverpool have produced in weeks, but their inability to execute the final action meant the two teams went into the half-time interval goalless.
The passivity that has defined their slump returned at the start of the second half, with West Ham able to station themselves higher up the pitch and finally impose themselves on the visitors. However, the hosts’ upsurge was brief, as Isak scored his first Premier League goal for the Reds with a tidy first-time finish.
Again, Wirtz was the orchestrator, finding Gakpo in an inside left position in the West Ham box. The Dutchman cut the ball back for Isak, who instinctively placed an effort beyond Areola at his near post.
The game drifted in the aftermath, with Liverpool content with their advantage and West Ham struggling for attacking coherence. Lucas Paquetá’s bizarre sending off for relentlessly remonstrating with referee Darren England made their task tougher in the closing stages, but the hosts did produce one moment that was squandered by Bowen.
Liverpool were under the cosh against the 10-man Hammers, but Gakpo’s clinical finish in stoppage time ensured there was no late resurgence from the hosts, as the defending champions finally returned to winning ways to ease the pressure on their manager.
West Ham vs. Liverpool Half Time Stats
West Ham vs. Liverpool Full Time Stats
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Liverpool Player Ratings vs. West Ham: Slot’s Gamble Pays Off.
