Liverpool are now just two wins away from becoming Premier League champions, after Virgil van Dijk’s late winner earned a 2-1 win over West Ham United at Anfield.
After going into the lead in the first half through Luis Díaz, Liverpool were below par in the second half and were eventually punished. After a cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the ball was put through the back of the net by Andy Robertson thanks to an error from van Dijk. However, the Dutchman turned from zero to hero three minutes, heading past Alphonse Areola to give Liverpool all three points.
The result means that Liverpool now need to only beat Leicester City away from home next weekend and Tottenham Hotspur a week later to secure their second league title in five years. A defeat for nearest title rivals Arsenal against Ipswich could see Arne Slot’s side secure the title in their next game, at the King Power Stadium.
Here are four things we learnt from Sunday’s win.
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Mohamed Salah is still the Egyptian king
Liverpool’s weekend could not have gotten off any better, with Mohamed Salah’s two-year extension announced on Friday morning. Two days later and after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Brentford on Saturday evening, the mood at Anfield could not have been any higher going into the game.
The form of Salah has slipped in recent weeks at a difficult point in Liverpool’s season. Being eliminated out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain and losing the Carabao Cup final to Newcastle United in the same five-day period put some doubt on how they would end the season. A week ago and a 3-2 loss to Fulham only added more question marks around the Egyptian’s form.
Salah answered his critics against West Ham with a scintillating first half performance, giving youngster Oliver Scarles a tough afternoon. He helped set up Díaz, with an outstanding outside foot assist to the Columbian, inspiring an iconic celebration.
His performance tailed off in the second half, but this was the case for the entire team. At his age, you cannot expect him to be at his best for the full 90. This performance, which capped off a great few days for him, shows the footballing world that he is still the man at Anfield.
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Virgil van Dijk to sign contract next?
Salah got the deal done, and his captain might be doing the same very soon. His celebration and post-match interview suggests this as well. After getting the match winner and celebrating with his teammates, he was quick to look at the fans and kiss the badge.
“I know but I don’t know,” said van Dijk when speaking to BBC Sport. With a cheeky grin on his face as the club is about to make history under his leadership, this was as big a sign as there is that he will be staying at the club.
Fabrizio Romano’s announcement of a two-year contract extension on X got fans excited and now it appears to have been confirmed from the horse’s mouth.
Whilst it looks increasingly likely that Trent Alexander-Arnold, one of the three star players out of contract this summer, will depart for Real Madrid, the other two are seemingly here to stay. Just a month ago, there were increasing concerns of all three leaving the summer. Instead, both Van Dijk and Salah are to remain, and this is as good a feeling as any summer signing will feel for the fanbase.
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Liverpool show frailties once again
It was not all sunshine and roses for Liverpool. After a first half that saw them dominate, they still allowed West Ham to have chances. Konstantinos Mavropanos’s header should have found the net, instead going over the bar, and Mohammed Kudus also hit the bar with a curling effort that tested goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
However, in the second half, Liverpool were extremely below par. This has been a theme of the past month, with a lot of sloppy performances. Robertson’s own goal just over 30 minutes after coming off the bench was typical of a difficult season for the Scotland captain, a campaign that has seen the team linked with a left back all year.
Milos Kerkez has been the most commonalty mentioned name and with his recent social media activity, there is a good chance Robertson is replaced as the starter this summer.
Liverpool were guilty of sitting back and allowing West ham back into the game, eventually punished by the equaliser. The defensive performance against Fulham was even more concerning in a nightmare 15-minute period at Craven Cottage.
There was a similar period to this last season, with Liverpool struggling in March and April. An extra-time FA Cup defeat to Manchester United last season appeared to the be the protagonist for a downfall in a nightmare March and April. An FA Cup defeat to Plymouth this season has appeared to do the same. Fortunately for them, unlike last season, no one else seems to want to win the league with a much bigger lead at the top also established beforehand.
Liverpool will hope it is just a blip, with a chance to rest in the summer along with two English clubs playing in the inaugural Club World Cup. Should they carry on this form into next season, it would then be time to panic.
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The sky is the limit for Alexis Mac Allister
It was quite the performance from Liverpool’s Argentine midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. Whilst van Dijk, Alisson and Salah got the praise, Mac Allister was equally as influential.
His family have been quick to shut down rumours of a move to Madrid after paper talk began, but you could see why they would be interested in the player after this performance.
He scored a wonder goal in last week’s defeat but in the West Ham win, he was everywhere. His corner kicks caused problems for the Hammers all day and his performance was capped off with the assist to van Dijk for the winner.
