Liverpool ended their three-game losing streak with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United on Sunday to climb to eighth in the Premier League table
Liverpool's Dutch manager Arne Slot gathers the ball during the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Liverpool at the London Stadium, in London on November 30, 2025.
Arne Slot snubbed help from his backroom staff(Image: Ben STANSALL / AFP via Getty Images)
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Liverpool finally broke their three-match losing streak with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United on Sunday. The Reds secured their first win since early November, thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo, propelling them up to eighth in the Premier League.
Isak scored his first goal for Liverpool in the 60th minute after a difficult start to life for the Reds. A strike from Gakpo in the 92nd minute clinched all three points, with West Ham's Lucas Paqueta being shown a red card in the closing stages.
Now, a home fixture against high-flying Sunderland and an away journey to Leeds United are on the horizon for the Reds. Arne Slot is hopeful that his team will learn from their recent poor form and continue their ascent both domestically and in Europe, when the Champions League rolls back around again.
Here, the ECHO brings you all the latest news from Anfield.
Arne Slot snubs Wirtz advice
Arne Slot dismissed the performance staff's recommendation to keep Florian Wirtz on the bench ahead of the Reds' 2-0 triumph over West Ham. The midfielder arguably had his finest performance in a Liverpool jersey so far, working with Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister to create chances for the team's forward line.
Slot revealed that his backroom team had advised against selecting Wirtz in the starting XI, given his recent spell on the sidelines through injury. However, the manager opted to include the German regardless.
Florian Richard Wirtz of Liverpool reacts after West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola had saved his shot during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium on November 30, 2025 in London, England.
Florian Wirtz stunned fans with his performance at the weekend
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Following the 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.
"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 confession
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Liverpool at London Stadium on November 30, 2025 in London, England.
Virgil van Dijk admits the team aren't even glancing at the Premier League table right now
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Virgil van Dijk admits there's "no point" in Liverpool monitoring the Premier League standings at present following their victory over West Ham. The skipper has confirmed that the players weren't checking the table during last season's title push and will adopt the same approach this campaign after a difficult spell of results.
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."
On the subject of the victory, 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."