West Ham lost 5–2 to Liverpool on Saturday, as their fight for survival took another blow. In truth, the game at Anfield was a strange one.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side made a poor start, conceding after just five minutes. Following a corner — a phrase you’ll be hearing a lot today — Liverpool’s Ryan Gravenberch got the better of Mateus Fernandes, poking the ball through to Hugo Ekitike. The Frenchman’s low strike beat Mads Hermansen at his near post to put the hosts ahead.
Arne Slot’s side doubled their lead on 24 minutes when Virgil van Dijk rose highest to head home from another Liverpool corner. The set-piece trifecta was then completed on the stroke of half-time, as West Ham failed to clear their lines following yet another corner, allowing Alexis Mac Allister to fire home a powerful volley to make it 3–0.
Interestingly, despite the scoreline, the Irons had performed reasonably well. Crysencio Summerville was causing problems down the left, while Fernandes looked tidy in midfield.
Despite conceding three goals, centre-backs Axel Disasi and Konstantinos Mavropanos made some strong challenges and were positive in possession. Even so, Hammers fans were understandably frustrated by the half-time scoreline and the nature of Liverpool’s goals.
West Ham started the second half brightly and pulled a goal back when El Hadji Malick Diouf’s cross found Tomáš Souček, who netted his 40th Premier League goal for the club to make it 3–1.
Nuno’s side were pushing and appeared to have the Reds rattled. However, with 20 minutes remaining, Liverpool seemed to have killed the contest when Cody Gakpo’s deflected effort restored the hosts’ three-goal advantage.
There was brief hope for the Hammers five minutes later when Jarrod Bowen’s corner evaded everyone but Taty Castellanos, who scored his second Premier League goal to put some pressure back on the home side.
But Liverpool wrapped the game up on 82 minutes when Jeremie Frimpong’s cross deflected off Disasi and into the net to make it five.
It was a frustrating afternoon at Anfield — as so many West Ham visits there tend to be — but there were still positives to take from the performance. The Irons have often dropped their heads after conceding multiple goals, yet for 90 minutes Nuno’s side remained competitive.
Results like this will not aid survival, and West Ham’s inability to defend set pieces was a major concern. But there is a character to this team that simply was not present in 2025.
Let’s hope the Irons can put this result behind them and pick up a crucial win away at Fulham next week.