West Ham United boss Graham Potter admitted Liverpool simply had too much quality for his side to cope with at Anfield as Arne Slot’s side moved 13 points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table.
Luis Diaz opened the scoring for Liverpool in the first half of the game before an Andy Robertson own goal pulled the teams back level again after the break. Virgil van Dijk then powered home a header right near the end to ensure that the Reds got back to winning ways after a disappointing showing against Fulham a week ago.
“It’s sore, for sure, because the players put in such a good performance, especially second half,” Potter told Sky Sports. “We came into it back end of the first half and credit to Liverpool — the emotion of the day and their intensity was tough for us.
“In terms of big chances, we had a few so I’m very disappointed to lose because I think we deserved something from the game. We did a lot well today and in terms of performance, it was probably the best we’ve had since we’ve been here. In terms of balance in defense and attack.
“We created opportunities, we attacked Liverpool and we restricted them to not too many chances. But they’ve got top players and we have to give them credit — they are the best team in the league.”
Liverpool could win the Premier League title next weekend if Arsenal loses at home to Ipswich Town beforehand. But failing that, the Reds might confirm their place at the top a week later at home to Spurs.
(Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
“It was an emotional day and rightly so,” Potter said. “The crowd here and Liverpool played well, they pushed us back. It wasn’t easy to get control of the ball.
“We had to drop Mohammed Kudus a little bit deeper to help us get hold of the ball. Sometimes you have to credit the opponent, they did really well. Sometimes away from home, you have to suffer a little bit and dig in.”
Liverpool.com says: While the Reds didn’t make things easy, their quality told in the end. Liverpool should have done more in the first half to get further ahead and then only had themselves to blame when West Ham leveled — it had been coming by that stage.
Arne Slot will not have been too pleased with the second-half showing but Van Dijk’s late header was a big moment. At this stage of the season, it is all about results, and Liverpool did eventually get a positive one.
