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Half-time reading

Half time: West Ham 0-3 Liverpool

45+2 min Salah almost makes it 4-0 on the break, poking a shot from a tight angle that is blocked by Areola. Liverpool have been devastatingly good in this first half.

Mac Allister won the ball high up the field and gave it to Jones, who found Salah on the far side, 18 yards from goal. He took a touch and dragged a low shot that went through the hand of the diving Areola at the near post. I suspect Areola was expecting a trademark curler towards the far post, which is why he was slightly slow to react.

GOAL! West Ham 0-3 Liverpool (Salah 44)

42 min As things stand Liverpool are eight points clear of Nottingham Forest with a game in hand. They are romping towards their 20th league title.

Mac Allister clipped a lofted ball down the right towards Salah, who knew he was offside and left it to Diaz. He squared it into the area for Salah, who turned Mavropanos gloriously* and poked the ball across to give Gakpo a simple finish. Brilliant.

* If he meant it. I’m not sure he did, but even if that was the case he reacted brilliantly

GOAL! West Ham 0-2 Liverpool (Gakpo 40)

38 min: Kudus hits the post! He’s been West Ham’s brightest spark by a distance and that would have been a lovely goal. He cut inside from the right, played a quick one-two with Paqueta and moved to within 25 yards of goal before driving a fine low shot that beat the diving Alisson and hit the inside of the right-hand post.

37 min: Liverpool substitution Gomez off, Quansah on. That’s a blow for Liverpool as Gomez has been in excellent form.

36 min Joe Gomez is down with what looks like a hamstring problem. Jarell Quansah is getting ready to come on.

35 min Mavropanos charges forward and bullets a crossfield pass out to Kudus. He controls it in the rabona style, wrapping his left foot around his right, and clips a cross towards the near post. Paqueta gets in front of Van Dijk but heads straight at Alisson. Half a chance.

West Ham appealed for a foul on Soler but VAR wasn’t interested.

33 min Liverpool fully deserve to be ahead on the balance of play. Jones tries for a second from distance but curls his shot too close to Areola.

Diaz has been a revelation in this new role and he took the goal expertly. First of all he dropped deep to receive an angled pass from Alexander-Arnold, turn and run at the defence. He tried a through ball to Jones that was cut out by Coufal, but that interception turned into a perfect return pass for Diaz. He ran onto the ball and swept an emphatic low drive past Areola from 12 yards.

GOAL! West Ham 0-1 Liverpool (Diaz 30)

28 min No: Soler’s corner is flapped away by Alisson.

28 min A corner is wrongly awarded to West Ham. Will it matter?

27 min A relatively peaceful few minutes for the West Ham defence. They are still struggling to keep the ball though.

24 min The resulting corner is headed off target by Diaz.

23 min: Good save by Areola Mac Allister wins possession on the halfway line and fires a pass into Jones. He pushes it left to Diaz, who cuts inside Kilman and whacks an early shot that is tipped over by the stretching Areola. That’s another pretty good save.

19 min It feels a matter of time before Liverpool score. Mac Allister floats a dangerous ball towards Salah that is taken off him by Diaz in a less favourable position. He can’t have seen Salah.

18 min Gakpo slashes wide on the turn from the left side of the area, though I think he was offside anyway.

15 min: Good save by Areola! Alexander-Arnold plays an excellent early pass down the right to Salah, who is able to isolate Alvarez with Wan-Bissaka caught upfield. Salah cuts inside and synchronises his short through pass perfectly with Jones’ late run into the area. Jones takes the shot first time and Areola blocks with his chest (I think). He was quick off his line and that was a pretty good save.

15 min Bowen buys West Ham a breather with a good run that leads to a foul.

13 min West Ham have the tools to hurt Liverpool in transition, as they showed with that Paqueta chance, but they aren’t seeing much of the ball right now. Salah’s jaunty outside-of-the-boot cross is punched away a little awkwardly by Areola.

Talking of OOTB, this was fun to research.

10 min Liverpool are into their work now, passing the ball with the swagger of runaway leaders. Their results have been great all season but it feels like the performances have gone up a level in the past six weeks or so.

8 min Another opportunity for Liverpool. Salah, found by Mac Allister on the right side of the area, floats a cross-shot that just evades Gakpo and drifts wide of the far post. It came an awkward height for Gakpo and he couldn’t decide whether to go with jhis head or foot.

6 min: Great save by Areola! Gakpo wanders infield from the left and plays a devastating angled through pass to Salah, who lifts a first-time shot towards goal from six yards. Areola does brilliantly to dive and push it roud the post.

6 min: Great chance for Paqueta! Robertson farts around in a dangerous area and is robbed by Kudus, who gives the ball to Bowen. His low cross is perfect for Paqueta – or would have been had Paqueta not slipped and booted the ball wide. Had he stayed on his feet he would surely have scored.

5 min See 3 min.

3 min A slow start, nothing to report except that there’s nothing to report.

1 min Yep, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has started at left-back in a 4-1-4-1 formation.

1 min West Ham kick off from left to right as we watch. Liverpool are wearing their black and turquoise change strip.

A quick reminder of the teams

West Ham (possible 5-2-3) Areola; Coufal, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Mavropanos, Emerson; Alvarez, Soler; Paqueta, Bowen, Kudus.
Substitutes: Cresswell, Foderingham, Ings, Fullkrug, Todibo, Summerville, Luis Guilherme, Scarles, Irvine.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo.
Substitutes: Kelleher, Danns, Jota, Elliott, Endo, McConnell, Nunez, Quansah, Tsimikas.

West Ham may also line up in a 4-1-4-1 as follows: Areola; Coufal, Kilman, Mavropanos, Wan-Bissaka; Alvarez; Kudus, Soler, Paqueta, Emerson; Bowen.

From the archive

Today’s Premier League results

West Ham are warming up in a back four, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka at left-back. That would make sense, given the threat of Mo Salah, although it would also mean Emerson playing in midfield. Time will tell at this point.

Fifty-five points from 21 games will seal it

Team news

Preamble