A fast start saw West Ham strike first when great link-up play from Lucas Paqueta and Michael Antonio saw the Brazilian strike the ball past Allison in the Liverpool goal.
However, it didn’t take long for Liverpool to respond, as Cody Gakpo fired in a fantastic long-range shot.
Both sides continued to press for the lead, with Diogo Jota having the best chance for his side and Antonio being denied by a superb bit of defending to keep the scores level at half-time.
West Ham started the second half better and thought they had regained the lead through Jarrod Bowen’s finish, but after referee Chris Mason received a message in his earpiece, the goal was eventually ruled out after the VAR review for a rightful offside call. Little did they know it wouldn’t be the last time VAR would rob them yet again this game.
It was Liverpool’s turn to retake the lead as an Andy Robertson corner was met by a brilliant Joel Matip header which was planted into the top left corner.
As the Hammers pushed for an equaliser, they thought they had a penalty in the 89th minute after it looked like a certain handball by Thiago inside the box. However, Chris Mason wasn’t interested at all and the game played on.
Liverpool held on for the final few minutes of additional time to claim three points away from home as the Hammers can feel disappointed that they didn’t get anything out of the game.
The win kept Liverpool in sixth place, with an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season.
West Ham remain in fourteenth and will be nervously looking over their shoulder at the teams behind them in the relegation positions, but will feel they have enough quality to stay in the division for yet another campaign.
Here are some of the main takeaways from this fixture:
Brazilian flare finding form
Lucas Paqueta made a big money move in the summer to the London Stadium and is starting to live up to his big price tag; the Brazilian now has three goals in his last three games.
He is finally finding the form West Ham fans dreamed of seeing from him and with a European semi-final and some key Premier League games upcoming, he could have found it just at the right time.
His creativity could be the key to firing the Hammers to a trophy and qualification for the Europa League next season.
Dutch Delight
Cody Gakpo’s form at the World Cup led a host of teams vying for the Dutchman’s signature, but it was Liverpool that won the battle to capture him.
Gakpo netted his sixth Premier League goal this season and is starting to look like a real key cog in the Jurgen Klopp system. His movement and link-up play were a real handful for the West Ham back four and he took his goal very well.
With Champions League qualification for Liverpool not mathematically out of the question, although looking unlikely, Gakpo’s goals will be vital if they stand any chance of achieving it.
VAR the talking point again
It seems it is always a discussion point, but David Moyes will be fed up with talking about VAR, as his side had a goal disallowed for offside and then in the final few minutes of the game the ball struck Thiago’s hand inside the penalty area but nothing was given.
Even though it didn’t look like a clear and obvious error, many in the ground expected a penalty to be given. However, when it was not even checked on-screen by the referee, not many could believe it.
Fans are still torn about whether VAR is a good addition to the game and with West Ham’s penalty shout not even deemed worth of review, you can understand why.
Liverpool's stuttering season coming to an end
After the last few years of domination and success on Merseyside, it has been far from that this season, with defence woes and a lack of goals this team look like a shadow of their former selves.
With no trophy to show this season and potentially missing out on the Champions League for next season, it feels like a step back for Klopp's team.
The summer will be used to rebuild and although three points against West Ham will feel routine for the Reds, they were still made to work hard for it.
With this win being their third in a row, Klopp will hope he can finish the season strongly to take into next campaign and challenge for the Premier League title once again.
