West Ham 0 Liverpool 5: Salah’s extraordinary assist at a glance and why Diaz scores

Mohamed Salah became the first player to score and assist in eight Premier League games in the same season as Liverpool beat West Ham and ended the day eight points clear of Nottingham Forest at the top of the Premier League.

Salah, who along with Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold can negotiate summer moves to clubs abroad from Wednesday, provided an exceptional assist for Cody Gakpo before scoring just before half-time.

Liverpool already led in the 30th minute through Luis Diaz’s goal and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s long-range shot was deflected in the 10th minute of the second half before Salah danced with the ball from the middle and scored Liverpool’s fifth goal (for Diogo Jota ) secured a comfortable win that solidifies your lead into 2025.

Here The athlete‘s Andy Jones and Liam Tharme explain the game’s key themes.

Did Salah mean his magical touch?

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Mohamed Salah, like all great magicians, pulls another rabbit out of the hat.

In a game where he once again had both a goal and an assist, it was the touch that led to his pass for Cody Gakpo’s goal that highlighted his brilliance… as if we needed reminding of it any more.

As Luis Diaz ran a ball over the roof, Salah drifted towards the penalty area and was ready to receive the ball.

The Colombian let the ball slide into his feet and as he waited, Salah glanced over his shoulder and spotted the onrushing Konstantinos Mavropanos.

Before he could react, the ball had passed through the Greek’s legs and Salah turned away from him.

The touch was so good it’s hard to describe. Salah jumped into the air before firing the ball towards the goal with his right foot. It was unorthodox and fascinating at the same time. A moment of brilliance and beauty.

This could become the modern day “Bergkamp touch versus Newcastle” debate about whether it was intentional or not. In the form that Salah is in, it is difficult to think of anything other than what was entirely intended.

The 32-year-old then used a burst of acceleration to get to the ball first and direct it into the path of Gakpo, who made no mistake.

Salah couldn’t help but laugh when Curtis Jones asked him about it during the celebration. He is a man of the highest level and always makes the seemingly impossible possible.

Salah smiles after his magical touch (Photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Andy Jones

How has Diaz already matched last season’s goals?

It’s still December and Luis Diaz has already matched his Premier League goals (eight) from last season. The Colombian has benefited from Slot’s flexible attacking approach, spending a lot of time in the half-spaces and on both wings, linking up with Liverpool’s wingers and complimenting the midfielders for runs beyond the ball.

His opening goal at the London Stadium was a deft, reactive finish after he came on from Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot and tried to find the penetrating run of Curtis Jones. Luckily, the pass bounced back to Diaz and he shot in.

Diaz celebrates reaching last season’s goal total (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Diaz has also played on the left when Darwin Nunez was the No.9, although he does his best when Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah play high and wide. His form, like most strikers, can be patchy and he failed to score (and assisted only once) in the final nine games of last season, although Diaz has scored two or more goals four times this season, including one Hat trick against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League. If he’s there, he’s there.

Liam Tharme

How important is it for Liverpool to be clear so far as we enter 2025?

Being top of the Premier League at Christmas often feels momentous for title challengers, but as we enter 2025, Liverpool are leaving the bottom of the league behind.

As the final whistle blew at the London Stadium, Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points, restoring the advantage they had built up at the start of December.

While Chelsea and Arsenal have yet to play their games in this series, Liverpool’s postponed Merseyside derby against Everton means they have played the same number of games (18) as both – Arsenal are nine points behind in third place and Chelsea with ten in the fourth. Nottingham Forest are in second place having played one game more than all three teams.

That’s a significant lead and feels significant because not only does Liverpool hold the lead, but it also gives them room for error that their pursuers don’t have due to the number of points they already have to make up.

The home defeat to Nottingham Forest in September remains the only defeat of Liverpool’s Premier League season and as they go from strength to strength, they continue to find new ways to win and impress.

The lead they have built is incredibly impressive, but there is still a long way to go. However, if the teams below them continue to drop points like they did in the first half of the season, they will soon have to rely on snooker.

Andy Jones

What had Liverpool learned since Spurs?

There’s something to be said for the second half being boring when you’ve scored three goals in the first half. Liverpool found that out the hard way at Tottenham a week ago, but were able to manage their lead brilliantly away at West Ham, at a stadium where their record is anything but perfect.

Lopetegui’s half-time changes saw the introduction of Niclas Fullkrug as a number 9, giving them an attack man and allowing Bowen to return to his primary role as a winger. Little changed, Liverpool defended well for long stretches, the ground was so quiet that you could hear shouts of “higher up” on the pitch for the defense to stand up, from the press box.

Considering Liverpool started with Joe Gomez as their second choice centre-back and ended up with a third choice when he went off injured and was replaced by Jarrell Quansah, their solidity and compactness was excellent. West Ham were limited to just four shots worth 0.29 expected goals and Liverpool made more tackles (21 versus 16) despite dominating possession.

Their pressing in the first half was excellent, setting traps for right-footed left-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and they slipped into a low block and played counter-attacking football when necessary. It’s only the second away game without conceding a goal in eight games, but it’s an important one as next up are away games against Tottenham (again), top club Nottingham Forest and (superior at home) Brentford.

Liam Tharme

What’s next for Liverpool?

Sunday, January 5th: Manchester United (H), Premier League, 4:30 p.m. UK, 11:30 a.m. ET

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(Photo above: Sky Sports)