This afternoon was supposed to herald the start of a new dawn, instead, it left us feeling as if we’re travelling down a familiar road.
After spending the most we’ve ever spent in a transfer window, West Ham were second best in every department at Anfield, in fact, the only comfort is that Liverpool didn’t score more than the four goals they did.
Matters were so poor that the travelling Hammers support vacated the ground long before the final whistle sounded.
Liverpool, were able to cut through a Hammers defensive line that seemed determined to stick to the eighteen-yard line almost at will, opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Mo Salah was on hand to tap in a cross from Andrew Robertson at the back post.
Just before half-time, our hosts doubled their lead when Sadio Mane was on hand to apply the finishing touches to a cross from James Milner.
Things didn’t get much better in the second-half when Mane, a touch offside perhaps, scored with a low drive with 53 minutes on the clock.
By now we were fearful that this was going to turn into a rout.
Thankfully, Liverpool eased off a bit and the Hammers could have pulled a goal back but Michael Antonio couldn’t hook the ball over his head and into the net from close range.
As the game edged towards the final whistle, Daniel Sturridge, with his first touch of the game after coming on as a substitute, netted at the far post.
Let’s just say, things can only get better.
Anfield
Premier League
12/08/2018 2:30 pm
Attendance: 53235
Referee: Anthony Taylor
| Liverpool | West Ham United | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salah (19) Mane (45+2, 53), Sturridge (88) | |||||||
| Alisson | Fabianski | ||||||
| Alexander-Arnold | Fredricks | ||||||
| Gomez | Balbuena | ||||||
| Van Djik | Ogbonna | ||||||
| Robertson | Masuaku | ||||||
| Milner | Noble | ||||||
| Wijnaldum | Rice | 45 | |||||
| Keita | Antonio | ||||||
| Salah | 87 | Wilshere | |||||
| Roberto Firmino | 69 | Felipe Anderson | 62 | ||||
| Mane | 82 | Anautovic | 67 | ||||
Substitutes |
|||||||
| Karius | Adrian | ||||||
| Clyne | Zabaleta | ||||||
| Tavares | Snodgrass | 45 | |||||
| Henderson | 69 | Hernández | 62 | ||||
| Sturridge | 87 | Obiang | |||||
| Lallana | Diop | ||||||
| Shaqiri | 82 | Yarmolenko | 67 | ||||
Game Statistics |
||
| 18 | Goal attempts | 5 |
| 8 | On Target | 2 |
| 4 | Corners | 4 |
| 14 | Fouls | 9 |
| 1 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 |
| 65 | % | 35 |