Liverpool beat West Ham United 5-2 at Anfield to go level on points with Man Utd
Hugo Ekitike scored once and assisted twice; Axel Disasi netted an own goal
West Ham United drop down to the relegation zone
Hugo Ekitike scored and provided two assists as Liverpool bolstered their top-four hopes with an entertaining 5-2 victory over West Ham.
A lively away performance from West Ham was not enough to deny Arne Slot's men at Anfield, as they moved level on points with fourth-placed Manchester United in the Premier League table.
Liverpool scored three first-half goals, all from corners, with the first of those coming via Ekitike's fifth-minute drive off the second phase of a Dominik Szoboszlai delivery.
Virgil van Dijk met another Szoboszlai corner with a towering header in the 24th minute, before Alexis Mac Allister scored the pick of Liverpool's goals two minutes before half-time, adjusting brilliantly to net with the outside of his boot after Ekitike helped Mohamed Salah's corner into his path.
Despite the scoreline, West Ham had threatened throughout the first period, and they pulled a goal back four minutes into the second half as Tomas Soucek met El Hadji Malick Diouf's cross on the slide.
Liverpool then appeared to be on the ropes, only for Cody Gakpo's shot to deflect in off Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the 70th minute after the Dutchman took in Ekitike's pass.
Valentin Castellanos was unmarked as he headed Jarrod Bowen's corner in for 4-2, but after Crysencio Summerville went close to teeing up a nervy finish, Axel Disasi turned Jeremie Frimpong's centre into his own net to cap the scoring in the 82nd minute.
Data Debrief: Slot's Set-Piece Plea Heard
Earlier this season, Slot said Liverpool had no chance of making the Premier League's top four if they did not improve from set-pieces, and it would appear his players heard him.
They became just the second team in Premier League history to score three goals from corners in the first half of a match, after Manchester United did so in a 4-1 win over Leicester City in September 2016.
Ekitike's opener made him the first Liverpool player to reach 20 goal involvements in all competitions this season (now 16 goals, six assists), while Van Dijk's goal was his 28th in the Premier League. Excluding penalties, John Terry is the only defender with more (41).
But West Ham could be pleased with aspects of their performance, having racked up 11 shots and 1.84 expected goals (xG) compared to 18 shots and 1.75 xG for Liverpool.
Nevertheless, Nuno Espirito Santo has now lost nine Premier League games against the Reds – more than he has against any other opponent.
