Van Dijk and Liverpool come alive after sleepwalking in Hammers trouble

It was van Dijk’s error, although his teammate was “credited” with the own goal, but one that finally saw Liverpool burst into life after sleepwalking through most of the game.

Mon, 14 Apr, 2025 - 07:18

Ian Whittell

VIRGIL van Dijk’s contract saga will roll on, for a few more days at least, but his 89th minute winner in this nervous victory simply underlined his importance to Liverpool and lifted his club to the brink of the title.

They can actually win it as early as Sunday - if a victory at Leicester is accompanied by Arsenal losing at Ipswich - but it is only a matter of time before Arne Slot can finally abandon caution and start talking about his club’s second title in five years.

Also a matter of time, surely, before Slot can discuss van Dijk following the example set by Mo Salah this week in signing a new, two-year contract extension at Anfield.

Van Dijk, who scored the winner just three minutes after he had contributed to Andy Robertson scoring an own goal that equalised for West Ham, told reporters after the game that we could see contract news next week.

Slot, however, was predictably in no mood to discuss his star’s contract talks. “I think when he says ‘let’s see what next week brings’ he means we’re playing Leicester City,” said Slot.

“Because at this moment, that is by far the most important thing this club is looking at. Two more wins and I think what our first 32 games have shown is how difficult it is, for every team in the Premier League, to win a game of football.”

As Slot admitted, this was one win his team probably did not deserve, on the balance of West Ham’s response to going behind to Luis Diaz’s first-half goal.

Only Alisson stood in their way until the 86th minute when Aaron Wan-Bissaka sent over a cross which van Dijk played against teammate Robertson and into his own net.

It was van Dijk’s error, although his teammate was “credited” with the own goal, but one that finally saw Liverpool burst into life after sleepwalking through most of the game.

Diaz, scorer of the opening goal, won a corner with a shot that deflected off Wan-Bissaka and Alexis Mac Allister swung in a right-wing delivery which van Dijk rose to meet and head home from close range, although West Ham could feel aggrieved as there may have been a foul on Lucas Paqueta in the build-up to the corner.

“That’s the million dollar question, huh?” shrugged manager Graham Potter.

But, by then, Anfield was electric, realising the urgency of the situation and roaring their team into life; a point acknowledged by Slot who spent several minutes at the end celebrating with the Kop.

Nice as it would be for Slot to celebrate a league title by winning it at Anfield, however, that is the last issue on his mind.

“If I have to win it 50 kilometres away, I don’t care,” said Slot. “First, we need to win two and that’s the only thing we should focus on. Everything else is just talk, talk, talk.”

Still, the opening 20 minutes against the Hammers had offered no clue of how difficult the afternoon would be as Salah, with his new contract in hand, was given a hero's welcome by his fans.

And the Egyptian legend set about showing why, at the age of 32, he still remains such a key figure in Liverpool’s present, and near-future, setting up the opening goal on 18 minutes.

He took Ibrahima Konate’s pass in his stride, simultaneously turning his marker Ollie Scarles with a devastating piece of skill and sending over a perfect cross which, having just evaded Diogo Jota in the middle, was turned in by Diaz, steaming in beyond him.

It was textbook Salah and his 18th assist of the Premier League season, just two behind the most ever recorded in a single campaign, a mark jointly held by Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry.

But individual records were not so much the focus for the Reds; more the urgency to collect the three points that would lift them to the brink of the title and West Ham were in no mood to make that easy.

After 21 minutes, Alisson blocked Carlos Soler and then had to scuttle back to execute a brilliant save to deny Mohammed Kudus’s superb follow-up shot, tipping onto his bar.

Closer yet, after 67 minutes, Jarrod Bowen who was only denied by a solid block by Alisson, who was even more impressive, moments later, diving low to keep out a shot from Kudus which appeared to be creeping inside his far post.

And, even after the late goals, Niclas Fullkrug headed against the Liverpool bar from Max Kilman’s 94th minute cross.

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1): Alisson 8; Bradley 7 (Quansah 68, 5), Konate 6, van Dijk 5, Tsimikas 5 (Robertson 60, 5); Gravenberch 6, Mac Allister 7; Salah 7 (Endo 84), Jones 7 (Szoboszlai 68, 6), Diaz 7; Jota 6 (Gakpo 60, 6).

WEST HAM (3-5-2): Areola 7; Todibo 6 (Guilherme 78, 5), Mavropanos 7, Kilman 6; Wan-Bissaka 6, Soler 7 (Fullkrug 78, 5), Ward-Prowse 6, Paqueta 6, Scarles 4 (Coufal 57, 5); Bowen 7, Kudus 8.

Referee: A Madley 6