Salah stars as Liverpool rout West Ham to move eight points clear in Premier League
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With 54 minutes gone at the London Stadium Trent Alexander-Arnold took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch with time to wait and look up, the lack of pressure from the West Ham players almost a public snub, before spanking a deflected shot past Alphonse Areola to make it 4-0 to Liverpool and kill off once again a game that was already long since dead.
![[Trent Alexander-Arnold strikes to make it 4-0 to Liverpool.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5ac66d0bc9ca5a814690cbab5a2dfa69914fc25d/0_200_7635_4581/master/7635.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
In the process Alexander-Arnold did at least provide a moment of cartoon drama, performing a slightly embarrassed silencing-the-chatter celebration, one hand raised to his ear. Perhaps this was a reference to stories overnight about a move to Real Madrid, something parts of the Spanish media have suggested is all but formalised.
It was at the very least a note of rare second-half interest on an evening that saw Liverpool stick at 5-0 up, Diogo Jota adding another near the end after West Ham’s entire defence and midfield had watched closely as Mohamed Salah did some dribbling.
The result means Liverpool will now enter 2025 top of the Premier League by at least seven points, and with at least one game in hand on those in their slipstream. Arne Slot’s team were once again coherent, energetic and well balanced, the goals shared between that re-energised front three. The weather can change, teams can stumble, force majeure can intervene. The rest of the league is going to need help from all three to prevent the five months becoming an extended procession.
On the other hand, Liverpool won’t get to play West Ham every week, which is probably best for everyone concerned. It would be wrong to say West Ham collapsed in the first half here. This would imply some kind of initial resistance. Instead Julen Lopetegui’s team walked out prepped and ready to dissolve like an over dunked digestive biscuit.
