Liverpool finally rediscovered their winning touch in the Premier League on Sunday as they overcame West Ham 2-0 at the London Stadium. It was the first victory the Reds had mustered since their 2-0 home triumph over Aston Villa on 1st November, although they also beat Real Madrid three days after that in the Champions League.
Since then, Arne Slot’s men suffered three defeats, each by three-goal margins. There was a 3-0 loss at Manchester City, a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest, and a bruising 4-1 loss at Anfield to PSV Eindhoven (in the Champions League).
After nine defeats in 12 matches, the visitors were desperate to get the three points against Nuno Espírito Santo’s men. Slot made several changes from the side that lost to PSV, the most notable of which was to start with Alexander Isak up top, with Florian Wirtz also coming into the starting line-up, meaning Hugo Ekitike and Mohamed Salah dropped to the bench.
Isak Scores First League Goal for Reds as Salah Benched
A win on the road! 💪 #WHULIV pic.twitter.com/9KjdWPOuzo
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 30, 2025
It was an emotional occasion at the London Stadium after news of the death of West Ham legend Billy Bonds. The home side were suitably buoyed up, hoping to do their old captain and manager proud. It was the visitors, however, who had the better of the early opportunities, Isak in particular getting into good positions, albeit without the required end product. It was all square at the break and it wasn’t exactly a classic that the neutrals would write home about.
In the second period, Liverpool began to settle better and it wasn’t long before Wirtz played the ball to Cody Gakpo who pulled it back for Isak to score his first Premier League goal for the Reds. His neat side-footed finish gave West Ham stopper Alphonse Areola no chance. The goal appeared to provoke a massive sigh of relief among the Liverpool players, but their task wasn’t complete as the home side pressed for an equaliser. It never looked like coming, however, as the Hammers struggled to create clear-cut chances. Instead, the visitors began to grow in confidence and could have gone two up after a fine shot from substitute Ekitike.
Then came an act of self-sabotage that effectively ended the game as a contest as West Ham’s Brazilian star, Lucas Paquetá, got himself booked for dissent. Instead of taking it on the chin and getting on with the game, the highly experienced 28-year-old, who’s played for AC Milan and Lyon, repeatedly berated the referee, Darren England. To be fair to the ref, he gave the player several warnings and calming gestures for him to get out of his face. But Paquetá had a serious bee in his bonnet and wouldn’t let it lie, effectively forcing England to show him a second yellow and give him his marching orders.
After that, there was no way back for the Hammers and Liverpool eventually took advantage in injury time as Gakpo blasted in from 10 yards after a pass from Joe Gomez. The victory over the Hammers was not the most convincing, but it was solid enough, and could well provide the spark Liverpool desperately need to reinvigorate their flagging season.
Can Liverpool Battle Back into the Title Race?
After the latest round of Premier League matches, Arsenal are top on 30 points (after drawing at Chelsea), Man City are second on 25, Chelsea are next on 24, with Aston Villa just behind on goal difference. Liverpool, meanwhile, are back in eighth spot on 21 points. A gap of nine points would not generally be viewed as insurmountable this side of Christmas, but leaders Arsenal have generally been playing at an exceptional level, and it is difficult to see a collapse from them. Also, Slot’s Reds have not looked convincing all season, even in the early weeks when they were winning most of their games.
The next few weeks will be critical, of course, as Liverpool could get themselves on a positive run of results, especially if Isak’s first league goal gives him the confidence to start scoring regularly. There are still plenty of unanswered questions about the make-up of Slot’s best first XI, and there is potential for discord among the ranks, potentially from Salah if he is repeatedly left to watch from the sidelines.
With six of the current top eight sides winning over the weekend (except Arsenal and Chelsea, who drew their match), Liverpool didn’t really gain much ground. However, Slot – not to mention the Liverpool fans – will be hopeful this victory can kickstart their season. We’ll have a better idea about their chances of getting close to a title defence once the New Year rolls around.