Alexander Isak scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool since his record £125m move from Newcastle United as Arne Slot’s side ended their wretched run with a much-needed victory at West Ham United.
The mood at the London Stadium was a sombre one after news of legendary former Hammers captain and manager Billy Bonds’ sad passing, but after paying tributes pre-match, it was straight down to business as the Reds ended a dismal sequence of nine defeats in 12 games with a deserved success.
Head coach Arne Slot dropped Mohamed Salah from a league starting line-up for the first time since April 2024, also at West Ham – a run of 53 games – under his predecessor Jurgen Klopp, and was rewarded with a much-improved display.
Isak who has struggled as much as Wirtz since moving to Merseyside, finally managed to get the monkey off his back shortly before the hour mark when he worked a yard in the box and swept home after Cody Gakpo found him inside the area.
The home side’s misery was compounded six minutes from time when Lucas Paqueta was shown two yellow cards by referee Darren England in quick succession, Liverpool then added a second goal their superiority deserved when Gakpo finished well from close range in stoppage time.
The victory moved Liverpool back into the top half, while West Ham remain just outside of the bottom three.
