Liverpool got their first win since the beginning of November with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United on Sunday as the Reds aim to turn their season around
Arne Slot manager / head coach of Liverpool during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium on November 30, 2025 in London, England.
Arne Slot ignored his staff's advice(Image: Izzy Poles - AMA/Getty Images)
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Liverpool finally ended their three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday. The Reds clinched their first victory since the beginning of November with strikes from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, shooting them up to eighth in the Premier League table.
Isak got his first goal for Liverpool in the 60th minute, despite having plenty of chances in the first half to put the critics to bed. A 92nd-minute goal from Gakpo sealed all three points, with West Ham having Lucas Paqueta sent off towards the end of the game.
Now, a tough home game against high-flying Sunderland and an away trip to Leeds United await the Reds. Arne Slot hopes that his squad learns from their bad run of form and continues to climb up the table both domestically and in Europe.
Arne Slot snubs Wirtz advice
Arne Slot snubbed the performance staff's advice to keep Florian Wirtz on the bench ahead of the Reds' 2-0 win over West Ham. The midfielder had arguably his best performance in a Liverpool shirt so far, working alongside Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister to create chances for the team's attacking line.
Slot revealed that his staff advised against starting Wirtz due to his time out with injury but he decided to put the German in the team anyway. Post-match, the Dutchman said: "After a very positive performance from Florian, I can acknowledge that but I also want to emphasise the team performance was much better.
Florian Wirtz of Liverpool controls the ball during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium on November 30, 2025 in London, England.
Florian Wirtz had a great game against West Ham
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"We tried to create an extra midfielder and he was very important for us to find that extra midfielder every time. He was good when he made a dribble, he was good with his one-touch passes, he played one ball to Cody, which then doesn’t lead to a shot, but we had many of those moments and he was part of many of them.
"Performance staff were constantly telling me ‘he needs to go out’ because he’d be out for one-and-a-half weeks and had only trained once, so to a certain extent it was maybe a bit of a risk to keep him in the team, but some situations ask for an exception, and today was one of them."
Virgil van Dijk's honest admission
Virgil van Dijk admits there's "no point" in Liverpool looking at the Premier League table right now after their West Ham win. The club captain has affirmed that the squad weren't glancing at the standings during their title charge last season and will do the same this year following a poor run of form.
Virgil van Dijk applauds fans on the pitch after the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Liverpool at the London Stadium, in London on November 30, 2025. Liverpool won the game 2-0.
Virgil van Dijk has been honest about Liverpool's place in the Premier League table
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Van Dijk said: "There’s no point for us to look at any table, we didn’t do it last year and we shouldn’t do it now either. The only thing we should look at is trying to find consistency in the way we play, defend and attack. It was a good win and now we move on."
Regarding the nature of the win, the defender added: "It was an important win. We are pleased to keep a clean sheet but I don’t think there was extra determination needed in the situation that we were in.
"Criticism is part of the game, so that’s what the guys who give criticism get paid for, we just have to deal with what we can control, and that’s playing football on the pitch. We won, that’s about it. Now we focus on Wednesday (at home to Sunderland), on what will be a very hard, tough game that we will be ready for."
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