Liverpool flexed their "Rocky Balboa" status beating West Ham 4-0 comfortably. Supporters saw a game that blew West Ham away, and they were not able to contain the energy and quality pace passing Liverpool showed.
Salah started the scoring in the 19th minute by converting a beautiful cross from Robertson into the penalty box. The West Ham high defensive line made it easy for not only Salah but for many of the Liverpool's scoring opportunities. Mane showed a lot of endurance through the game and was rewarded by finding the net just before HT and getting again his second just after the break. From there on there was no way of West Ham coming back into the game which allowed Liverpool to sit back and test out their defensive to attack routines. But the most surprising goal came from Sturridge who after being substituted (88min) scored within seconds from a corner.
"We played as good as possible today and we extended a really good pre-season into the Premier league" - Klopp (BBC Sport, Match Of The Day) Link
Liverpool's new signing Keita showed a lot of potential in the midfield position and seemed like he will be a crucial midfield player if Liverpool are going to contend for the Premier League title. Keita was vital in the build-up to Salah opening goal and finished 10th in passing accuracy (88.2%)
"He is a ball winner with great drive and fantastic ability. I have seen him get out of some ridiculous situations in training where he had no right to do it" - James Milner (Sky Sports) Link
Was it too much to expect the hammers to win? In fairness, it would have a been a miracle if West Ham were able to score and hold their lead against Liverpool. The fact that Pellegrini was managing his first Premier League game for the hammers that included a multitude of fresh signings, would have been a tough game even if they had faced a mid-table team. But Pellegrini knows that his team needs to improve on this if they are to collect early league points.
"We knew before the game that our start was very difficult. In our first few games we need to play some of the big teams." - Prellegrini (BBC Sport, Match Of The Day) Link
Moving forward Liverpool will be in high spirits going to their Crystal Palace game next Monday. While it is back to the drawing board for West Ham, who face Bournemouth on Saturday.
What do you think?
What are your thoughts on the game? What was your impression of the game? Will Pellegrini get West Ham winning by Saturday? Let us know in the comments below.
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