West Ham United 1-4 Liverpool: Player Ratings

Mohamed Salah scored another brace as Liverpool thrashed West Ham 4-1 at the London Stadium.

Salah opened the with a calm finish before Joel Matip tapped in a few minutes later to make it 2-0. West Ham would get back in the game through a Manuel Lanzini goal, but an Oxlade-Chamberlain goal and Salah's second of the evening sealed the victory for the Reds.

Here are the player ratings for both teams:

West Ham

Joe Hart – 6

Hart was arguably unfortunate to concede three goals, coming out off of his line quickly on a number of occasions as well as showing some quick distribution. However, his ability to pass out from the back still looks limited.

Edimilson Fernandes – 5

Fernandes dealt with Mane reasonably well in an unnatural right back position, however, his decision not to foul Salah in the build-up to Liverpool’s opener cost his team. He was taken off at half-time in a tactical change for Carroll.

Winston Reid – 3

Reid was booked for a rash challenge and gifted Liverpool chances by committing himself more than once. Overall it was a very poor performance by the West Ham centre back.

Angelo Ogbonna - 6

Ogbonna was made to look much worse by Reid alongside him at centre back because he showed composure and defended well, but the defence he was part of still conceded four. Alongside some better defenders, West Ham may not have conceded as many goals.

Aaron Cresswell – 5

Cresswell stayed strong defensively and made an occasional run forward throughout the game. But, his positioning before Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal really cost his team after they had just received a lifeline from the Reds. Coming inside, he left Chamberlain free on the right and he was punished by his fellow compatriot.

Mark Noble – 5

Noble, despite giving 100%, looked limited and struggled to move the ball forward. He was taken off and replaced by Arnautovic as West Ham attempted to get themselves back in the game.

Pedro Obiang – 6

Obiang was by far West Ham’s best midfielder, trying to transition the ball forward, however with Liverpool having three in midfield he was overrun at times.

Chiekhou Kouyate – 5

Kouyate did not offer a lot in midfield in the first half, and then moving to right back in the second half his awful positioning allowed Salah space to score his second and Liverpool’s fourth.

Manuel Lanzini – 7

Lanzini looked the sharpest West Ham player and one of the very few who showed determination and fight to get back in the game. His touch and finish for his goal were what West Ham needed, unfortunately, his defence didn’t help him out.

Andre Ayew – 7

Ayew continued his good form and was unlucky not to score when he hit the post with a dink over Mignolet in the ninth minute. Additionally, he would then later get the assist for Lanzini’s goal waith a great delivery.

Javier Hernandez – 6

Hernandez was trying to get involved but he was nullified by the two Liverpool defenders and looked limited in trying to fathom any chances for West Ham.

Substitutions:

Andy Carroll – 7

The introduction of Carroll made a huge difference for West Ham as he caused lots of havoc. He was also unlucky not to get an assist as he showed great feet before passing to Lanzini in the box, who could only fire his shot over.

Marko Arnautovic – 5

Arnautovic was introduced at 3-1 and found it very hard to get past Gomez and if anything, got in Lanzini’s way and limited his effectiveness in the game.

Diafra Sakho – N/A

Sakho was introduced with 18 minutes to go, and as Salah scored just three minutes after his introduction, it made it difficult for him to have any motivation to change the game.

Liverpool

Simon Mignolet – 5

Mignolet conceded just one goal that he could do little about, but he still looked very shaky. Numerous times he came off his line and nearly made a mistake, suggesting his confidence must still be quite low.

Joe Gomez – 5

Gomez looked strong defensively for the most part, but he was lucky his team-mates were so devastating on the counter-attack as he let Lanzini score too easily for West Ham’s only goal of the match when he made it 2-1.

Joel Matip – 7

Matip had a very comfortable evening and even defended strongly against Carroll after his introduction, winning lots of balls in the air. To top off a strong defensive performance, he also added a goal early on and made It 2-0 as he pounced on Hart’s save to tap into an empty net.

Ragnar Klavan – 6

The Estonian put in a strong defensive display and limited West Ham’s opportunities all evening. Carroll gave the centre back some problems when he was introduced but he defended well for lots of the game.

Alberto Moreno – 7

Moreno warranted his selection once again, putting in a defensive performance nobody would have expected last season. The Spaniard dealt with all of West Ham’s right-sided players easily and helped Liverpool break on the counter-attack.

Emre Can – 7

Can showed some neat footwork, getting out of tight situations and controlled the play well, often playing the simple but effective pass. The German had a very comfortable evening in central midfield.

Georginio Wijnaldum – 6

Wijnaldum was one of Liverpool’s poorest performers on the night as he struggled to get involved at times. He made some interceptions and played some short simple passes, but he did not see as much of the ball as Can or Chamberlain.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – 8

Oxlade-Chamberlain showed great willingness to follow up his first effort and finish under Hart to make it 3-1 and kill off the game for Liverpool. In his first start for the Reds, he put in his strongest performance since moving to Merseyside.

Mohamed Salah – 9

Salah put in another excellent performance with the highlight being his finish for his second goal which he hit low and hard into the corner. Furthermore, his finish for his and Liverpool’s first was calm and collected, epitomising his start to the Premier League season.

Roberto Firmino – 6

Firmino showed some nice link-up at times but failed to get on the scoresheet when he should have done, dragging a good opportunity wide at 3-1.

Sadio Mane – 8

Mane, on his first appearance back after injury, showed great pace on the counter-attack before calmly rolling the ball to Salah to finish, waiting for the perfect moment to play the killer pass. He continued to cause havoc all game and set up Salah again with a good pass over the top to make it 4-1 to the Reds in an important victory.

Substitutions:

James Milner – N/A

Milner found it easy to thread balls through the lines with lots of West Ham players committing themselves forward, but only played the final 13 minutes.