Liverpool on “extended procession” to title as “inevitable” Mo Salah excels again

As Arne Slot‘s side finished 2024 in style, Liverpool’s 5-0 win at West Ham in the Premier League was lauded by the media as a performance of champions.

The Reds were simply too good for the Hammers on Sunday, striding into a 3-0 lead at half-time and pulling further clear after the break.

Mohamed Salah was sensational, scoring and assisting, while Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota also got in on the act.

Here’s how the media reacted to Liverpool’s superb victory.

The Reds look primed for title glory after another huge win…

The Guardian‘s Barney Ronay feels Liverpool are going to take some stopping:

“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.”

David Lynch assessed another imperious Liverpool performance, as they once again made their opponents look mediocre:

“You could caveat Liverpool’s magnificent performance today with a ‘yeah but the opposition were poor’, but the fact is they’ve made most teams look like that this season.

“That’s why they’re eight clear at the top of the Premier League going into the New Year.”

Jason Burt of the Telegraph feels Liverpool are a “machine” this season as Slot continues to impress:

“Liverpool are inevitable. And so is Mohamed Salah and so, unfortunately for them, are West Ham.

“Salah scored his 20th goal of the season and added two more brilliant assists as the Premier League leaders swept aside a rank West Ham.

[…]

“They are a machine under Arne Slot with their ‘Three Kings’ of Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo all scoring in an embarrassingly one-sided first-half that ended with West Ham being booed off. Again.”

Phil McNulty of BBC Sport is another who feels Liverpool look “unstoppable” on current form:

“Liverpool’s imperious form is such that they now exert psychological domination on opponents with their superiority – and here West Ham played like a beaten team even before kick-off.

[…]

“While there are usually twists and turns after New Year in a title race, Liverpool’s unstoppable form is in sharp contrast to those expected to be their main rivals.

“The remarkable Nottingham Forest apart, even at this stage it looks like it will take something special – or an unlikely red collapse – to stop Slot marking his first season at Anfield with a Premier League triumph.

“Arsenal and Chelsea will still harbour title aspirations, but this Liverpool team currently has such self-belief and confidence that it is almost impossible to see how, or where, they will stumble in pursuit of a first championship since 2020.”

It was yet another record-breaking day for the incredible Salah…

Burt could only admire the brilliance of Liverpool’s legendary attacker:

“Above all, there is a luminous brilliance to Salah at present. All he touches turns to gold. And goals.

“Even he appears surprised by his audacious feats, wearing the broadest of grins following a wonderful assist for Gakpo’s goal, with two ‘nutmegs’ to outwit both centre-halves, and again when he beat Areola from the edge of the penalty area with an unerring low strike into the net.

“And once more when he ran from his own half, held off four panicky challenges and teed up substitute Diogo Jota late on.

“West Ham were almost frozen by fear of Salah and what he can do.”

Mo Salah will end 2024 with the most goal involvements of any player for clubs in Europe's big-five leagues in all competitions (52).

He has scored or assisted a goal every 64 minutes played on average.

The best footballer in the world. pic.twitter.com/vgeUhh8HsM

— Michael Reid (@michael_reid11) December 29, 2024

Mohamed Salah is the first player in the competition’s history to score AND assist in eight different Premier League games in a single season.

? vs. Ipswich
? vs. Man Utd
? vs. Chelsea
? vs. Aston Villa
? vs. Man City
? vs. Newcastle
? vs. Tottenham
? vs. West Ham

We’re… pic.twitter.com/vwha6Wx1FF

— Squawka (@Squawka) December 29, 2024

Tom Victor of the Mirror felt Salah made mincemeat of West Ham‘s tactical plan against him:

“West Ham attempted to double up on Mohamed Salah, but in a rather unconventional way.

“Their usual left-back Emerson lined up just in front of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who switched sides from his usual right-back berth, in a move that appeared designed to attempt to suffocate Liverpool’s Egyptian.

[…]

“Keeping Salah at bay for 90 minutes looked impossible, especially when he’s capable of the kind of brilliance in tight spaces we witnessed for Gakpo’s goal.

“Far better teams have struggled with him, and perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised a team with four league clean sheets all season couldn’t find an answer.”