Liverpool 5-2 West Ham: Ekitike 5, Van Dijk 24, Mac Allister 43, Gakpo 70, Disasi 82 o.g.; Soucek 49, Castellanos 75
What an uplift Liverpool have had in the past few weeks. In this most unpredictable of seasons, the great dark wave has passed and Arne Slot’s Reds look much closer to the side that lifted the title last year.
Once again Hugo Ekitike, the jewel of Liverpool’s summer business, found the back of the net, opening the scoring as early as the fifth minute to send Slot’s side roaring through the game.
By half time Liverpool were 3-0 up. West Ham refused to surrender in the second half, scoring twice, but the home side had a response each time to maintain their three-goal advantage.
The win takes Liverpool fifth, above Chelsea ahead of the Blues’ crunch clash against leaders Arsenal. They are also level on points with Manchester United, who are fourth and have a game in hand; and crucially, only three points separates them from Aston Villa in third.
For all that this season has been a massive disappointment, given Liverpool’s easier fixtures in the run-in, Slot seems likelier than ever to save his job with a comfortable top-five, or even top-three, finish to secure Champions League football.
Well in, Reds 🙌#TeamPixel | #Ad pic.twitter.com/hpXF70KZMs
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 28, 2026
Liverpool got off to the best possible start when Ryan Gravenberch laid the ball off to Ekitike, who took a touch and then sent a shot with a slight deflection off Konstantinos Mavropanos and past Mads Hermansen.
West Ham responded well, putting pressure on the hosts with Crysencio Summerville the chief creator. But they were let down by their finishing and just when their attack had reached a crescendo, Virgil van Dijk made it 2-0 with a header from a corner. By half time Alexis Mac Allister had volleyed in a third to effectively end the match as a contest.
After the break West Ham tested Liverpool’s resolve, Tomas Soucek sliding to finish from El Hadji Malick Diouf’s cross and pull one back for the visitors. The Reds were still skittish and their defence looked open as West Ham mounted extra pressure looking for something to break, but gone are the days when Liverpool were apt to throw away leads.
Cody Gakpo dashed Nuno Espirito Santo’s frail hopes with a fourth in the 71st minute, and while Taty Castellanos capitalised on amateurish defending, giving Liverpool a taste of their own medicine with a header from a corner, the returning Jeremie Frimpong soon forced Axel Disasi into an error and the defender turned the ball into his own net, heaping misery on the relegation-threatened London club.
