Isak begins repayments as Hammers mourn legend Bonds
Liverpool's Alexander Isak applauds the fans after being substituted off. Picture: Adam Davy/PA Wire.
On the funeral march to redemption, Alexander Isak finally broke his Premier League duck for Liverpool and Arne Slot’s date with the judges was postponed.
Thirteen weeks after he became British football’s record signing, Isak’s instinctive finish and Cody Gakpo’s emphatic clincher in stoppage time provided head coach Slot with breathing space after nine defeats in 12 games had left the Kop contemplating the unthinkable.
Ten seasons ago, Leicester parted company with Claudio Ranieri, the Tinkerman who pulled off a 5,000-1 miracle, nine months after he won the title; if Liverpool were toying with pulling the plug on Slot after just six, at least the vultures will back off for now.
Isak’s emergence from autopilot was overdue and the Swede admitted: ”I'm aware that it has been a long time coming and I have been trying to get back to my best form.
“The best feeling today is that we win the game and that is the best way to get a good spirit in the group, but of course I am a striker so scoring goals will always help me. We have to use this win in a good way but also be humble, stay focused and keep working hard to build momentum.
"When you are going through tough times as a team, it is about fighting. The boys did really well."
Apart from one close-range effort beaten away by West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola in the first half, Isak had remained a €142 million rumour in a sluggish contest more forgettable than amnesia itself.
But when the Hammers could only half-clear Joe Gomez’s long throw after an hour, and Gakpo’s low cross reached Isak 14 yards out, the Swede’s first-time finish was crisp, low and whistled past the unsighted Areola at his near post.
Although the win lifted Liverpool back into the top eight, don’t get carried away by a performance which was mainly stodgier than a steam pudding.
Slot dropped Egyptian king Mo Salah to the bench for the first time in 18 months in the Premier League. The Reds were still unconvincing as an attacking force, but the 3,000 travelling disciples from Merseyside bellowed their support for the under-pressure manager.
He said: “It says a lot about the club and our fans that they were not only supportive of me but the whole team. It tells you this club is always together, maybe even more so in difficult moments. To support someone when he is successful is much easier, so it means a lot.
“Mo has had an unbelievable career at this club and will have a very good future at this club, but when you play four games in 10 days you have to decide, once in a while, to make a certain decision.”
Florian Wirtz continues to be a light that flickers when his price tag says he should be blinding us at full beam, and Liverpool were holding on, with Jarrod Bowen firing narrowly wide, until Gakpo settled all arguments with his fifth goal of the season.
West Ham’s ponderous scavenging was a threadbare tribute to 799-game record appearance-maker Billy Bonds, whose death was announced hours before kick-off.
And midfielder Lucas Paqueta’s dismissal six minutes from time - for two yellow cards, barely 60 seconds apart, both for dissent - was the most ridiculous sending-off you will see all season.
West Ham stood by Paqueta when he was under investigation for alleged spot-fixing before he was cleared, and this is how he repays them? What arrant nonsense from an experienced player who should know better.
Hammers manager Nuno Espirito Santo said: “I need to have a private conversation with Lucas and try to understand what he was feeling in that moment.”
To an extent, perhaps West Ham could be forgiven their negligible goal threat and distracted air after the death of all-time East end hero Bonds aged 79.
Before kick-off, skipper Bowen laid a No.4 shirt bearing Bonds’ name in front of the legend’s eponymous stand, but the Hammers’ football was an impoverished memorial to the best player never to win an England cap.
Nuno said: “I don’t quite believe the news (of Bonds’ death) affected the team, but it felt like it affected the mood (around the stadium). It was tough, we kept fighting to the end but it’s hard to play against a team like Liverpool with one player less.”
Areola 7; Wan-Bissaka 7, Mavropanos 6, Todibo 6, Diouf 6; Potts 6 (Soucek, 88), Magassa 6 (Guilherme, 68), Fernandes 5; Bowen 6, Paqueta 4; Wilson 5 (Fullkrug, 78). Subs: Hermansen, Walker-Peters, Kilman, Julio, Rodriguez, Irving.
Alisson 6; Gomez 7, Van Dijk 7, Konate 6, Kerkez 6 (Robertson, 85); Gravenberch 8, Mac Allister 7, Szoboszlai 6; Wirtz 5 (Jones, 75); Isak 6 (Ekitike, 68), Gakpo 6. Subs: Marmardashvili, Endo, Salah, Chiesa, Nyoni, Ngumoha.
Darren England
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
