Lopetegui looking for answers from Hammers as Liverpool coast to victory at the London Stadium

Photo by @JTaylorSport

West Ham United 0 Liverpool 5

Under pressure Julen Lopetegui admitted that West Ham were "disappointing" after a trouncing by Liverpool at the London Stadium.

The Hammers manager was the latest to witness the Reds in unforgiving, imperious mood - and three first half goals from Luis Diaz, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah saw Arne Slot's side coasting.

Further breakthroughs in the second half by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota illustrated the absolute gulf between the visitors and the listless, mid-table Londoners. Liverpool have now netted eleven times in the capital recently, having despatched Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 a week ago.

West Ham had been in reasonable form going into a predictably stern test, with two wins and two draws from their last four games. Fresh from a 1-0 success at Southampton, there was some indication of optimism. It was a pity for them that they were facing the Reds, who are seemingly driving towards the Premier League title in a brisk, business-like manner.

Nevertheless, that was not to anticipate the Hammers' reckless defending across a dismal opening 45 minutes, where they discovered the league leaders in particularly ruthless mood.

"This has been a very disappointing day for us and our fans", said Lopetegui. "We didn't deserve more today - it has been a hard loss at home. We have to accept this and improve in these type of matches.

'Destroyed'

"We need to be able to compete better in many things, with and without the ball, taking advantage of moments. I feel we had 15, 20 minutes when we were out of the match and they destroyed us.

"We were very far off them today. We have been doing well the last month, but not today."

Any sense of a genuine contest was ended due to Liverpool's sharp degrees of execution in east London.

In the 29th minute, Diaz swept a right foot shot under Hammers' keeper Alphonse Areola. Ten minutes later, Gakpo doubled the lead for the Merseysiders with a poached effort, after the home defence and Areola failed to track the movement and touch of Salah inside the penalty area.

Salah made it 3-0 two minutes before the interval. With Hammers' Carlos Soler dispossessed by Alexis MacAllister and again the rear guard loose, the Egyptian instantly rifled a right footed shot low into the corner of the net.

Under Lopetegui, West Ham sit 13th in the Premier League - but in real terms, and on this evidence, they are merely going through the motions. Liverpool, on the other hand, move along without hindrance and are eight points clear at the top, seemingly unstoppable under Slot.

It was an unfortunate measure of West Ham's ill-fortune that any hopes of a brief fight back were comprehensively extinguished in 53 minutes when Alexander-Arnold let fly with a 20 yard shot which went past Areola with the aid of a ricochet from luckless Max Kilman.

An excellent save by the busy Areola - who endured a thankless task throughout the evening - from Reds' substitute Jota helped keep the score down, the evening already an embarrassment. Jota's turn would come soon enough.

Salah, meanwhile, volleyed over from an inviting position as Liverpool were content to maintain their authority, other than a sporadic surge in an academic second half, devoid of any proper atmosphere.

However, Jota had his moment when he made it 5-0 seven minutes from time. With the Hammers long out of fuel, the Portuguese curled the ball into the net after the hosts inability to track and tackle a run from deep by Salah. By then, vast swathes of the home support had seen enough, the London Stadium emptying slowly and morosely. Even the boos from the Hammers fans who remained were half-hearted.

Was there any shaft of light for West Ham?

Mohammed Kudus - who caught the eye in the first half - was unlucky to see his 25 yard low effort hot the post as West Ham tentatively responded. That really was as good as it got for Lopetegui's men.

As things stand, the Irons now have a few days to recuperate before a trip to Manchester City next Saturday. And the concern for Lopetegui is that Pep Guardiola's side have finally got over the worst of their surprising, alarming slump.

Concerns

Lopetegui admitted that there are concerns regarding his defence, especially against high calibre opponents.

He added: "We are worried about this - you can lose belief against these teams. We have to accept today was very tough for us and it is a pity for our fans."

Unsurprisingly, Slot left the London Stadium very satisfied.

"It was the way I would like to see us play away in the Premier League," the Liverpool chief admitted.

"You have to try and kill any home momentum, but we were so dominant that we were able to take care of West Ham. They had been in good form coming into this game."

Furthermore, Slot suggested there is more to come from Liverpool in the second half of the season.

"The level you reach has a lot to do with the team you face," said the Dutchman. "It is not an easy place to go to and it was pleasing to see (Liverpool's performance).

"We have increased our ability to score goals. I am so pleased to see what Trent (Alexander-Arnold), Virgil (van Dijk) and Mo (Salah) does for instance. I am very happy with the squad. The players show that they deserve the confidence I have in them and I am going to need all of them this season."