Liverpool player ratings, winners and losers vs West Ham as Luis Diaz and 3 more excellent

ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Liverpool is a maximum of six points away from being confirmed as Premier League champion after Arne Slot’s side narrowly beat West Ham United at Anfield thanks to a dramatic late winner from Virgil van Dijk.

In a dominant first half, it took just 18 minutes for Mohamed Salah to register an assist as he crossed low for Luis Diaz to finish. But Slot’s men couldn’t find a second goal and despite having been dominated earlier on, West Ham came more and more back into the contest.

Alisson Becker had to be in good form to keep out a couple of big chances before an Andy Robertson own-goal leveled things before Van Dijk popped up from a corner. Liverpool did, in the end, get over the line to further strengthen its grip at the top of the table in dramatic circumstances, but didn’t do it the easy way.

Winners

All across the Liverpool team, there were confident and assured performances, at least early on. Van Dijk had called for an improvement on the defeat to Fulham last weekend and that is exactly what transpired in the first half.

In midfield, Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister could pop the ball around and Diaz and Salah impressed up top. West Ham barely got out of its own half with Liverpool pinning its opponent back. It was composed and calm — exactly what Arne Slot wants.

Things plateaued a bit in the second half but Cody Gakpo injected some fresh energy into things. Carlos Soler fired over from a decent position and Liverpool needed some heroics in the end. It should have been simpler than that.

Losers

Darwin Nunez was not involved in the matchday squad here, with Cody Gakpo and Federico Chiesa the options in reserve. While it is not yet clear why that is, he wasn’t missed. Ahead of a big summer when decisions will need to be made in the transfer market, that was telling. Diogo Jota wasn’t scintillating, but he offers more than the Uruguayan has been lately.

Player ratings

Alisson Becker (8). Back between the sticks after missing two games at club level thanks to a head injury sustained while representing Brazil, he had nothing to do for 20 minutes and then made a top save from Mohammed Kudus’ chip. That is the sign of a world-class goalkeeper, and he certainly is that. He made good saves from Kudus and Jarrod Bowen second half too.

Conor Bradley (6). Starting in the Premier League for the first time since mid-February at Goodison Park, there was plenty of energy and endeavor from the full-back. Salah took the limelight in front of him but he was solid and reliable and got forward when he could.

Ibrahima Konate (7). Up against Kudus and Bowen, there was a double threat for the Liverpool center-backs to deal with. Konate stood up well against the physical and speedy combination Graham Potter selected.

Virgil van Dijk (8). Captaining the side for the 100th time, this was a much-improved performance on last week’s showing at Fulham. Much more like it and he did what he needed to against what could have been a tricky front two to deal with. Scored a late winner with a powerful header. Partly at fault for the own-goal, perhaps, but made up for it.

Kostas Tsimikas (6). In for Andy Robertson to give the Scotland captain a break, the Greek had plenty of chances to get forward. He was solid enough defensively without having loads to do and his attacking influence was best described as supporting those in front of him rather than taking a leading role in creating chances.

Ryan Gravenberch (7). The only times he gave the ball away was when things were too easy for him. The Dutchman was able to waltz forward with the ball at his feet multiple times early on in the game and he seemed to have lots of time in possession. It’s no accident: it is by design and through clever movement when it happens so often.

Alexis Mac Allister (8). Full of energy and snapping into tackles in the center of the field. The Argentine helped set the tempo in the middle as he so often does and nearly scored another spectacular goal with a free kick that Alphonse Areola did well to stop.

Curtis Jones (7). Selected over Dominik Szoboszlai, who has more than earned a rest, Jones was impressive in the middle. Glad to be playing his best role again, the Reds’ number 17 pressed and passed with energy and confidence. He kept hold of it too long on one or two occasions but that wasn’t a frequent issue.

Mohamed Salah (7). Fresh from signing a new two-year extension this week, there was a buzz about the Egptian in the stands and on the field. He was twisting and turning with the ball and fizzed a couple of efforts at goal early in the game. He got an assist but a goal proved elusive.

Diogo Jota (6). The main focus through the game was on Diaz and Salah out wide but Jota, playing down the middle, linked things well enough at times. He would have hoped to be more involved but is back to being the number one pick as number nine again.

Luis Diaz (8). Chosen ahead of Cody Gakpo off the left-hand side, the Colombian scored the opening goal of the game (his 15th strike of the campaign to date) when he popped up at the far post. He was lively all game and looked to get at Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jean-Clair Todibo at every opportunity down that side of the pitch.

Substitutes

Cody Gakpo (6). Injected a bit of fresh life into the Liverpool attack when it had stagnated. Didn’t make too much difference but it was the right decision to take Jota off.

Andy Robertson (5). Given a rest from the start, the Scot came on with around a third of the game remaining. He didn’t do much different to what Tsimikas had been doing but then scored a bizarre own-goal.

Jarell Quansah (6). With Bradley having only just returned from injury, he got 67 minutes and Quansah did the rest. He was defensively solid when West Ham pushed for an equalizer.

Dominik Szoboszlai (6). On for Jones, the Hungarian didn’t really get into things as well as he might have liked. He tends to be a better starter than a substitute. Wataru Endo also entered the field, but too late to earn a rating.

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