London: Mohamed Salah’s sumptuous brace helped Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1 in the Premier League at the London Stadium on Sunday(January 31). Georginio Wijnaldum netted the another for the defending champions while Craig Dawson added one for the hosts.
Jurgen Klopp’s men lined up in a 4-3-1-2 formation with young Nathaniel Phillips being paired with skipper Jordan Henderson at the heart of the defence. Thiago Alcantara along with Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner formed a midfield trident. Mohamed Salah formed a two-man forward line alongside Divock Origi with Xherdan Shaqiri playing as a no.10 behind them.
The defending champions dominated the possession on the ball right from the kick-off. However, they were unable to create any opening in the first-half. Henderson despite being a midfielder was very much solid at the back denying any space for the hosts. West Ham too kept it tight to deny any space.
Salah opened the scoring in the second-half shaking defenders off his way before whipping it to find the top corner of the net.
The Egyptian maestro added another soon after as he got on the end of a fine move on the counters by the Reds. Alexnder-Arnold and Shaqiri created the move with just two touches of the ball before Salah kept his cool to slott it home. West Ham tried their best but the visitors were too good for them.
Wijnaldum scored the winner after the two substitutes Firmino and Oxlade-Chemberlain combined themselves beautifully to create the move. Craig Dawson headed it home late for the hosts but it was a mere consolation.
The win took Liverpool to third in the table, just a point behind Manchester United.
