Liverpool scores 3 in the 1st half, beats West Ham and maintains advantage at the top of the English

Liverpool said goodbye to 2024 in style. This Sunday, the leader of the English Championship thrashed West Ham 5-0, playing away from home. The visitors made it 3-0 in the first half and already scored 8 minutes into the final stage. The team led by Arne Slot reached the mark of 14 goals in the last three games.

The result sustained Liverpool’s good lead in the table. The first-placed team reached 45 points, eight ahead of the new runner-up, Nottingham Forest, who have one more game in the table. In third is Arsenal, with 36 and the same 18 matches already played by Liverpool. West Ham are only 13th, with 23.

The first half at the London Stadium was busy from the opening minutes. Before the clock reached the sixth minute, each team already had a great chance to score. Salah missed the opportunity for Liverpool while Lucas Paquetá wasted it for the hosts.

The “back and forth”, however, was short-lived, even after the injury suffered by defender Joe Gomez, who left the match in the first half and became a concern for Liverpool coach Arne Slot. And soon goalkeeper Alphonse Areola became a one of the highlights of the match, with three decisive saves for the host team.

At 29, Liverpool began to confirm their superiority on the field on the scoreboard. Luis Díaz received the ball in midfield, “played” with a marker and saw the ball come up perfectly for the finish: 1-0. The Colombian scored his eighth goal in the competition, being his 12th in 24 games in the European season.

West Ham tried to respond afterwards. And Kudus hit the foot of Alisson’s left post. The hosts’ reaction was nothing more than that. On the other side, the championship leader maintained the pressure and sought the second goal at 39, in a new decisive participation by Luis Díaz. He started a beautiful play on the right, with an exchange of passes with Salah that resulted in Gakpo finishing, with the goal practically free, into the net.

Liverpool’s blistering pace continued at the start of the second half. At 8, Alexander-Arnold took a shot from distance and saw the ball deflect off the head of defender Kilman, ending up in the back of the net.

The fourth goal calmed the visiting team and slowed down the pace of the match. Slot took the opportunity to spare his starters, making all four remaining changes. Diogo Jota, Endo, Tsimikas and Elliott took to the field. But at that point, Liverpool were already playing in a slower rotation, just managing their good advantage on the scoreboard. Even so, Jota sealed the victory by scoring the fifth in the 37th, following an assist from Salah.

If there are no changes at the top of the table, there is a new vice-leader in English. Nottingham Forest beat Everton 2-0 away from home and reached 37 points, one ahead of Arsenal. The new second-placed team, however, has one more game than third- and fourth-placed Chelsea (35). Wood scored the first goal of the match and assisted on Gibbs-White’s goal, one in each half. Everton is 16th, with 17 points.

In a game with four goals and comebacks, Tottenham drew 2-2 with Wolverhampton at home. Bentancur and Johnson scored for the hosts (Son missed a penalty) and Hee-chan and Larsen, this one in the 37th minute of the second half, scored for the visitors. The London team is in 11th, with 24, while Wolves are 17th, with 16.

A 2-2 draw also happened in Fulham x Bournemouth, at the former’s home ground. Brazilian Evanilson, formerly of Fluminense and with the Brazilian national team, scored the first goal for the visitors, who are fighting with Fulham to enter the fight for the top positions. Bournemouth is 6th, with 30, while Fulham appears in 8th, with 29.

In another game of the day, Crystal Palace beat bottom club Southampton 2-1 at home. The three points left the winner with 20, in 15th place. The last placed team remains with just six points.