Liverpool beat gritty West Ham, open 13-point gap

Mohamed Salah celebrated his new contract with another Premier League record as Liverpool moved to within two wins of clinching the title despite a lacklustre 2-1 victory over West Ham.

Two days after top-flight defenders had to come to terms with the prospect of another two years of torment from the Egypt international, the Hammers’ 19-year-old wing-back Ollie Scarles found himself in the firing line.

Scarles was turned inside and out by Salah, whose cross for Luis Diaz’s 18th-minute effort was his 45th Premier League goal involvement (27 goals, 18 assists) and the most in a 38-game season.

Salah, favourite for a fourth Golden Boot in eight seasons, is now only two away from the all-time assist record jointly held by fellow Premier League greats Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.

Anfield came to celebrate their ‘Egyptian King’ but in reality other than that and Diaz’s 15th goal of the campaign there was little else to cheer until a late flurry prompted by Andy Robertson’s 86th-minute own goal.

It was Virgil van Dijk’s attempted clearance of Aaron Wan Bissaka’s cross which cannoned off his team-mate but the captain, set to join Salah in soon signing a new contract, made amends by powering home a late header and wheeling away to kiss the badge on his shirt.

Conor Bradley’s start at right-back after last week’s substitute appearance following injury had made a major improvement to the side, as did Alisson Becker’s return as he found himself the busier goalkeeper in the second half as West Ham seized on their hosts’ lethargy.

Salah is on his worst goalscoring drought since February 2023 with no goals in five games but his value to the team was evident in a first half in which Scarles was given a real education.

The 57 minutes he faced Salah will have felt like an eternity and his second-half substitution will have come as something of a relief.

His wily opponent’s movement was a major concern for Scarles, who let his man escape for the goal.

Salah had already left him trailing in his wake when cutting inside to curl a shot wide of the far post but when he turned him again on the touchline seconds later the result was more devastating.

His curling pass with the outside of his left foot was intended for Diogo Jota but Max Kilman cancelled him out and it ran through for Diaz to convert.

Salah’s clever clip saw Alexis Mac Allister volley at Alphonse Areola, having just seen his Liverpool counterpart tip Mohammed Kudus’ shot onto the crossbar after being caught out of position.

West Ham centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos headed over at a corner in added time but after Mac Allister crashed a free-kick against the crossbar and forced a scrambling Areola to waft behind his cross-shot, Liverpool retreated into their shell and the visitors should probably have won as a result.

Carlos Soler diverted over a cross from Jarrod Bowen, who was denied by a charging Alisson before Kudus flashed a shot across goal.

Salah’s influence had waned by this point and he cut a frustrated figure when he was substituted five minutes from the end, showing little interest in receiving the accolades.

Within a minute West Ham equalised as Liverpool paid for their lethargy and it needed a towering header from Salah’s main rival for Player of the Year to finally kick-start a party.

Even then they were not safe with substitute Niclas Fullkrug heading against the crossbar.

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