Liverpool obliterated West Ham United with a 5-0 victory at the London Stadium, extending their Premier League lead to eight points on Sunday, with Mohamed Salah once again in exceptional form.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding a new contract, the Egyptian has been enjoying a remarkable season. Salah scored once and provided two assists as Liverpool dominantly outplayed their opponents. He now boasts 20 goals across all competitions this season, having scored and assisted in eight Premier League matches, seemingly propelling Liverpool towards a 20th league title in Arne Slot’s inaugural season as manager. Liverpool currently holds 45 points from 18 matches, with surprise contender Nottingham Forest trailing with 37 points, having played one match more. Fourth-placed Chelsea has the opportunity to narrow the gap to seven points on Sunday when they face struggling Ipswich Town. Salah expressed to Sky Sports, “The only thing on my mind is I want Liverpool to win the league and I want to be part of that. I will do my best for the team to win the trophy. There are a few other teams catching up with us, and we need to stay focused and humble and go again. I am almost hungry for more.”
When questioned about any progress in renewing his contract beyond this season, Salah responded: “No, we are far from that and I prefer not to discuss it with the media.” While this situation might worry Liverpool supporters, they are delighted by Salah’s impressive performances each week, as is his grateful manager, Slot, who has suffered only one defeat this year, including matches with his former team Feyenoord. “If you examine his statistics, you can’t dispute them,” Slot remarked when asked if Salah is presently the world’s best. “Mo is certainly among the top at the moment.” Liverpool had netted nine goals in their previous two league matches, and the only surprise on Sunday was their initial inability to display their dominance at West Ham. However, once Luis Diaz expertly placed a shot past home goalkeeper Alphonse Areola after the ball fortuitously fell into his path at the 30-minute mark, Slot’s team was unstoppable.
West Ham might mention a Mohammed Kudus attempt that hit the post when the score was 1-0, yet they never truly seemed to be in the game. Salah displayed impressive footwork to set up Cody Gakpo in a congested area, making it 2-0 in the 40th minute. Shortly before half-time, Curtis Jones played Salah in, allowing him to essentially seal the match by firing a shot inside the post.
After the break, Liverpool eased off but still created numerous opportunities. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s shot was deflected off Max Kilman’s head, resulting in a 4-0 lead in the 54th minute. Slot made several substitutions during the second half; however, Salah remained on the pitch, continuing to trouble West Ham. He executed a skilful dribble before setting up Jota to curl in the fifth goal in the 84th minute.
A small number of West Ham supporters who stayed until the end expressed their disappointment with boos at the final whistle; however, Liverpool, as they have been since the season began, proved to be overwhelmingly superior.
