The Match, The Stat: Liverpool 5-2 West Ham
A game heavy on set pieces and a chaotic lack of control goes Liverpool's way for once.
Top Five Stats
Hugo Ekitike scored within the first five minutes of a match for the third time this season, having done so in the Community Shield and against Brighton. Andy Robertson, versus Atlético Madrid, is the only other player to do this at all.
Dominik Szoboszlai has now assisted Virgil van Dijk three times his season, having also set him up against Atléti and Bournemouth. It is Liverpool’s joint-top combination along with Ekitike to Florian Wirtz and vice versa.
Van Dijk and Alexis Mac Allister both scored to draw level with Mohamed Salah on five non-penalty goals in all competitions in 2025/26.
Liverpool scored five goals despite missing both of their Opta-defined big chances. Cody Gakpo was responsible for one - Trey Nyoni the other - but he did at least score his first goal at Anfield since October.
Jeremie Frimpong’s first attempted pass after he came on created the fifth goal. He effectively has six goal contributions in his last 11 appearances, though as deflected crosses and setting up own goals don’t count, his official tally is only three for the season.
Match Review
Do you remember Liverpool beating Newcastle 4-3 at Anfield in the 1990s? No, not that one, the second one. The Reds led 3-0 at the break, only to later require one of their Premier League-record 48 stoppage time winners to get over the line.
There were shades of that match here. This was the only other league game at Anfield since 1992 in which Liverpool led by at least three goals at half time before conceding twice (or more) after the break. This will not go down as a classic like that match has.
If it was classic in any way, it was a classic example of a Liverpool match in 2025/26. You don’t know what to expect from one week to the next. They have undoubtedly played better in matches they have lost this term.
The visitors turned up in good form. West Ham arrived having collected 11 points in their previous six league games, as many as they had picked up in the 18 prior to that.
It has also frequently been tough for the Reds when facing a Nuno Espírito Santo side. Liverpool’s 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture was their biggest win in their previous five encounters. Even then, Cody Gakpo didn’t bag the second goal until the 92nd minute that day.
It has been customary for the Reds to perform better later in games too. Coming into the weekend, the Hammers had scored the highest proportion of goals in the first half in the 2025/26 Premier League, Liverpool the lowest.
Like I said, you don’t know what to expect any more.
It’s always nice to score with the first shot of the match, as Hugo Ekitike did today. It was perhaps inevitable that it would come thanks to a set play, what with West Ham having only conceded one such league goal fewer than Liverpool at the start of play. Even if you don’t know the Reds’ exact figure, you know that means the Hammers have let in plenty of goals in dead-ball situations.
The Reds found themselves 2-0 up before 25 minutes had been played. They hadn’t reached that point earlier than the 58th minute in their 11 previous matches against Nuno-ball. Virgil van Dijk’s goal came via a corner, as did Alexis Mac Allister’s shortly before the break.
The upturn in the Reds’ dead-ball output is absurd. Aaron Briggs must be wondering which football god he pissed off ahead of this season. Liverpool scored eight set piece goals in their first 32 games of the season, only to then bag 12 in the next eight-and-a-half prior to the interval in this match.
This match became the 44th instance of Liverpool leading a Premier League game by exactly three goals at half time. Not only were the preceding 43 won, in only seven of them did the Reds ‘lose’ the second half. As much as the Hammers had played well in the opening 45 minutes, they had only produced two shots in open play.
This season being the struggle that it is, West Ham inevitably then scored that way with the first shot following the restart. It was the opening Opta-defined big chance of the contest too, though Cody Gakpo should have then made it 4-1 when Liverpool had their first ‘should score’ opportunity with their next effort at goal.
The Dutchman looked to have secured the points when he later scored in the 70th minute. It was remarkably the third deflected goal for Liverpool in the match. There have been games in which they scored two but I’m not aware of a three-deflected-goal example. Send me a postcard if you know of one.
West Ham then made the score line 4-2 via a corner to prove the Reds’ defensive record from them is almost as bad as their own. Game back on?
Thankfully not. For the second week running, a substitute entered the fray late on to make a significant difference on the wing. While Rio Ngumoha again did well, this time it was Jeremie Frimpong who made the greatest impact. His cross led to the final goal of the game, then he later laid on a big chance for fellow sub Trey Nyoni.
The youngster’s squandering of that opportunity didn’t matter. Liverpool had their fifth 5-2 win in Premier League history, with each one occurring under a different manager.
It’s a ridiculous match to assess. West Ham edged the expected goals by 0.09, thanks hugely to the 0.80 xG chance that Tomáš Souček converted for their first goal. They also narrowly led possession, with Mateus Fernandes attempting the most passes of anyone on either team.
You don’t get many visiting players doing this, especially when for playing such a struggling side. West Ham were calmer, more controlled, than the Reds for large patches. That’s suboptimal to say the very least.
But then this is Liverpool and this is 2025/26. You don’t know what to expect from one week to the next.
Source for graphics: OptaJoe, Michael Reid, WhoScored, markstatsbot.
You shouldn't feel too bad when your team scores five goals, and yet...
Whatever, up the Reds!