Diaz is No. 9 and Salah just gets better – 5 talking points from West Ham 0-5 Liverpool

Liverpool’s final fixture of 2024 saw a dominant first-half procession which yielded a lead they entirely deserved and the Reds are eight points clear at the top tonight.

West Ham 0-5 Liverpool

Premier League (18) | London Stadium
December 29, 2024

Goals: Diaz 29′, Gakpo 39′, Salah 43′, Alexander-Arnold 53′, Jota 84′

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Slot’s third No. 9 the real No. 1?

Job share to start the season up front: Diogo Jota the effective starter, Darwin Nunez his replacement, though the Uruguayan has played more in the league this term given the Portuguese’s injuries.

However, neither had been relentlessly effective – Jota clearly better than Nunez, but still not excellent – so with game load and Cody Gakpo starring, Arne Slot looked to an alternative.

Luis Diaz has now had a few run-outs as our starting centre-forward and it’s fair to say he has impressed to a large extent.

The way we play, the No. 9 will go through spells in the game not really affecting build-up play but must still be an out-ball, a hold-up option, close down defenders and be on-hand in the box for chances.

Diaz has done it all and plundered several goals in the process.

His instinctive strike opened the scoring here, adding to a brace against Tottenham. Slot very much has three choices in the position but maybe Diaz is the lead right now.

 

Quansah needs to find form quickly

• West Ham 0-5 Liverpool: Player Ratings

Just under half the match done, Jarell Quansah found himself called upon to play at centre-back for only the second time in the Premier League since the opening day.

Having been hooked at the break in that fixture at Ipswich and playing only 20 minutes in the position since at home to Fulham, it meant the youngster just needed to get to the end of this game to make it his longest appearance of the campaign in his proper position, given he faced Man City and Newcastle as a makeshift right-back.

While that’s a positive for the young defender, the negative for Liverpool is that the need for him came when Joe Gomez pulled up with an apparent hamstring tweak.

Given Ibrahima Konate remains sidelined and Gomez has stepped into the role in excellent form, it’s a real worry for the Reds ahead of facing Man United next time out.

While Quansah had a fine year last term, he hasn’t looked confident or consistent when called upon this year and we’ll need him to be both if he faces a run in the side now, starting

 

Salah keeps hitting the right notes and numbers

It’s now eight different seasons in which Mo Salah has scored 20 goals or more for Liverpool – this term he’s reached the milestone before the turn of the year.

In the Premier League alone he’s up to 17 goals and 13 assists, 30 contributions in total in just 18 matches – the man is a sensation and just in ludicrous, unbelievable form.

To put those numbers into context, for the whole of last season Cole Palmer topped the ‘goals plus assists’ charts (if that’s a thing now) with 33, followed by Erling Haaland (32), Ollie Watkins (32) and Salah himself (28).

Yes, he’s eclipsed his own tally of last year even before the halfway mark.

Not content with just that, today he also set a new Premier League record: scoring (once vs. West Ham) and assisting (twice!) in the same match eight times in a single campaign.

All this, and he missed a hat trick of sitters!

 

Clean sheets make a welcome return

Surprisingly perhaps, this was Alisson Becker’s first clean sheet since he returned to the side – we’ve been a little more lax at the back of late than we’d like, and certainly compared to the beginning of the season.

In domestic terms this was our first shut-out in six matches; since the win over Man City we’ve only kept a clean sheet against Girona.

For Alisson specifically, his last blank kept was against Crystal Palace back in October, and he didn’t play the entirety of that game either as he went off injured, so very nearly three months since his last 90-minute showing keeping opponents at bay.

We’re excellent in attack and often free-scoring, but we want both sides of perfection. With two centre-backs out, Ali might be kept busy in future matches so this was a good confidence booster on that front.

 

Slot plans for United and a huge assault on all fronts

For the last few games we’ve been playing after our closest rivals; this time around we played before Chelsea and Arsenal. It gives a bit more of an even look at the gap between us, as that trio have now played 18 games – and we lead them by ten and nine points respectively.

Sure, Nottingham Forest are second but they’ve played one more and it’s still a big ask for them to be this consistent all term, while Man City also played and won, but are now 14 points back.

So Liverpool will host Man United at Anfield top of everything and in all the cups – and with two key performers available after Arne Slot subbed off Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo nice and early, both a booking away from a suspension. Both are deservedly key starters and have a big role to play against our biggest enemies.

But much can change quickly and consistency is always all-important – and we play nine matches in under a month now, across all four competitions.

We’re capable of going the distance, maybe in more than one of these competitions, but as ever, we have to go out there and prove it over and over again. Another five-goal thrashing next time out would be a fine start!