Following Arsenal’s slip-up yesterday, Liverpool knew that they had an opportunity to put themselves on the verge of a 20th league title.
And after Mohamed Salah put pen to paper, extending his stay in midweek, every touch from the Egyptian was celebrated, especially an 18th assist of the season as the PL top scorer delivered the ball on a plate for Luis Díaz to slot in on 18 minutes.
That goal made Salah a record-breaker for the most PL goal contributions in a 38-game season with his 45th.
West Ham almost immediately equalised as Carlos Soler was denied when one-on-one, shortly before Mohammed Kudus attempted to lob Alisson from distance, only for the Brazilian goalkeeper to just about tip the ball onto the crossbar.
The Hammers continued to probe for an equaliser, and that almost arrived right on HT as James Ward-Prowse delivered an inch-perfect corner kick onto the head of Konstantinos Mavropanos, but the Greek defender headed inches over.
Liverpool came flying out following the restart, almost doubling their lead through an absolute rocket from Alexis Mac Allister that forced Alphonse Areola to tip the ball onto the woodwork.
The Reds haven’t lost any of their previous 152 PL home games when leading at HT, a statistic dating back to December 2009, and Arne Slot’s men looked to be extending in the early stages of the second half.
But as the hour mark approached, Graham Potter’s men upped the ante and had several opportunities to level the scoreline.
First, Soler blazed over when picked out by Jarrod Bowen in the box, before the Englishman was sent through on goal by Lucas Paquetá, but Alisson was at his very best, smothering the Hammers forward.
The home side looked jaded in the closing moments of the contest, which allowed West Ham to grow into the contest and dominate the late stages. That momentum paid off as Andrew Robertson turned the ball into his own net after Virgil van Dijk’s clearance went in off the full-back.
However, as they have done so many times in front of the Kop, the Reds found a late winner.
Van Dijk popped up in the box to head home from Mac Allister’s corner, earning a 36th victory in 50 games for Slot and moving his side 13 points clear with just six games remaining.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alisson (Liverpool)