Result

Liverpool closed within three points of Premier League title rivals Manchester City today when they secured a vital win over Champions League-chasing West Ham United at Anfield.

The Reds bagged the 1-0 win thanks to Senegalese star Sadio Mané after he tapped in from close range when Trent Alexander Arnold played a lovely low ball into the box for him to slot past Lukasz Fabiański.

pic.twitter.com/I1xFNN2iqJ

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) March 5, 2022

West Ham did craft chances of their own, and truthfully, Miguel Lanzini should have pulled the Hammers level, but seven wins in a row will have Liverpool hoping for a huge favor tomorrow from bitter rivals Man United in the derby clash against City.

Liverpool Player Ratings

Alisson Becker (8) – Made a handful of key saves both during the run of play as well as handling West Ham’s danger on set pieces. Good as always.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (9) – Very good in all departments. Assist on the lone goal of the game and put in a good defensive display as well. MoTM for Liverpool.

Ibrahima Konaté (7) – A bit of a tale of two halves for the Frenchman. But overall he grew into proceedings and continues to show the potential he does possess.

Virgil van Dijk (8) – Eventually everyone will run out of positives to say about his performances. Top-level in all departments.

Andy Robertson (7) – Solid throughout. Nothing more to say apart from some questions about the consistency of his delivery of service.

Fabinho (6.5) – A similar overall performance from the Brazilian as seen from Konaté. Eventually, glimpses of his usual consistency could be found.

Jordan Henderson (7.5) – Good. And more importantly, he never hides. Continues to show why he wears the armband.

Naby Keita (7.5) – Keita remains an enigmatic player. So good on his day, but inconsistency has been his weakness since arriving from RB Leipzig. Today showed his quality.

Mohamed Salah (6.5) – Not his best performance in a Liverpool kit but was still tidy in some respects. Nothing more than decent on the night.

Sadio Mane (7.5) – The goal probably boosts his overall match rating as, much like Salah, the Liverpool goalscorer was slightly off tonight. Still was decent beyond the goal.

Luis Díaz (8) – Once again, January signing Luis Díaz showed why the Reds splashed the cash on the former FC Porto star. He’s a real get and had the crowd on its feet a few times.

Sub: Diogo Jota (5) – Was involved in his cameo but didn’t provide much. Booked as well.

Sub: James Milner (N/A) – Did little in the few minutes he was given at the end of proceedings.

Sub: Curtis Jones (N/A) – Was given seconds in an odd substitution.

West Ham Player Ratings

Lukasz Fabiański (7) – Made a fair few saves on the night and was pretty solid throughout. Cannot be held at fault for the goal.

Ben Johnson (6.5) – The 22-year-old put in another decent shift on the right side of the defense. Could not have done much more.

Michael Dawson (6.5) – Just about on par overall with Zouma as the other half of the center-back pair put in a decent shift on the night.

Kurt Zouma (6.5) – The Frenchman was good in his tasking on the night but sometimes there is only so much you can do when you travel to Liverpool.

Aaron Cresswell (6) – Not at all his usual self. Decent is probably the best word that can be described for a performance that lacked influence.

Jarrod Bowen (6) – Had an okay evening before coming off injured in the 61st minute, with David Moyes now concerned that the England midfielder could miss time.

Tomáš Souček (7) – Reliable and present as ever in the center of the park even without Rice next to him. Strong in the air and on the ground in the tackle as usual.

Miguel Lanzini (7) – Missed an absolute guilt-edged chance from close that could have earned West Ham a point on the night, but overall, he was good as Declan Rice’s deputy

Nikola Vlašić (6) – Nothing more than decent from the Croatian midfielder who is a much more effective player when used centrally.

Pablo Fornals (6.5) – A similar overall performance to Antonio. Lively, had a few chances, but just lacked a few percentage points overall.

Michail Antonio (6.5) – Managed to get into good positions throughout and led the Hammers in shots but wasn’t able to turn any of those chances into an equalizer.

Sub: Saïd Benrahma (6) – Did well to get stuck in (three tackles) but his main objectives were not met given his quality and position.

Sub: Mark Noble (6) – Was okay after coming on and was involved as best as he could be, but had little real influence.

Sub: Daniel Chesters (N/A) – Came on two minutes into stoppage time and really didn’t get involved.

What they said

Jürgen Klopp

On the result: “We took some risks in the last line with our buildup play. In the second half, we were always a little late for the second ball and we had problems. We have to do some of the basics better. But they have quality and were pretty impressive. We know we needed some luck in moments but we also showed proper defending in a different way to deny them over 95 minutes.”

Regarding Díaz and Jota: “It was necessary [to bring them in]. We cannot always rely on what we have had before. We also have Taki and Divock. We had to bring in quality and fresh energy. It looks like it’s worked out. The boys have top quality. We had one year when Bobby, Mo, and Sadio played all of the games. But when you play Sunday – Wednesday – Saturday – you cannot get through it with the same lineups. It’s important and it’s the only chance we have to be a success.”

David Moyes

On missed opportunities: “We had one or two huge opportunities. I thought Antonio played really well, but we lack that edge against the top teams, to be really clinical. I think we were worthy of something today.”

Reflecting on Jarrod Bowen’s injury: “Looks like something in his heel, happened in a tackle with Andy Robertson. I was hoping it wasn’t too bad but I didn’t like he came off with no weight-bearing. It’s not an obvious-looking injury to me at the minute.”

What you may have missed

With his assist for Sadio Mané‘s 12th Premier League goal of the season, Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold bagged his 16th assist this season and in the process, drew level with Steven Gerrard’s single-season assist record (2007-08) for the Reds in 20-fewer matches. Barring catastrophe, he looks all but set to write his name into the record books.

STAT: Most assists provided by Trent Alexander-Arnold in a single season:

2018/19: 15
2019/20: 15
2021/22: 16

Incredible #awlive [@Squawka] pic.twitter.com/kaLRmhVwQM

— Anfield Watch (@AnfieldWatch) March 5, 2022

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