Liverpool easily beat West Ham 3-0 at Anfield to keep their European hopes alive and leave the Hammers in deep relegation trouble.
Reds win after Benayoun and Ngog efforts and Green own goal
Liverpool easily beat West Ham 3-0 at Anfield to keep their European hopes alive and leave the Hammers in deep relegation trouble.
Former Hammer Yossi Benayoun put the Reds ahead in the 19th minute when chesting home a Steven Gerrard free-kick from close range.
David Ngog then doubled the advantage 10 minutes later when finishing from a Maxi Rodriguez cross.
The Hammers' night then got worse on 59 minutes when Gerrard's free-kick was met by Sotirios Kyrgiakos at the far post and his shot hit the post and rebounded off keeper Robert Green into the net.
The win moves Liverpool up to sixth in the table while West Ham remain three points above the drop zone, having played a game more than third-from-bottom Hull but having a vastly superior goal difference.
A 10th successive home league victory was rarely in doubt against a club whose last win at Anfield came in September 1963 and who have much more important battles to win in the last few weeks of the season.
Having dropped to seventh after the weekend's games, Liverpool's hopes of UEFA Champions League football appeared to be over.
And with Fernando Torres' knee operation ruling him out for the remainder of the season, the suggestion was their chances of rolling over opponents had gone with him.
Fair assessment
If his stand-in Ngog's first attempt on goal was anything to go by that seemed a fair assessment.
The 21-year-old Frenchman, often criticised for his decision-making, attempted to beat Green with a header from the edge of the penalty area from Jamie Carragher's long pass when he had time to bring the ball under control after springing the offside trap.
But having barely threatened, Liverpool then took the lead in the 19th minute with a piece of quick thinking by Benayoun.
Gerrard's right-wing free-kick bounced in front of the Israeli and he allowed it to deflect off his chest and in off Green's right-hand post.
From some angles it looked like it could also have brushed his arm but there were very few protests from the visitors.
West Ham's response was brief, with Carlton Cole firing in a shot which Jose Reina did well to hold.
Despite their lead the atmosphere inside Anfield seemed to reflect the team's forlorn hopes of fourth place and it was not improved when unmarked centre-back Kyrgiakos headed Gerrard's 27th-minute corner down and over the crossbar from close range.
But a surprisingly smart finish from the raw Ngog eased those worries two minutes later.
Reina played the ball out and the Reds fed it up to Benayoun on the left and he cut inside before passing to Maxi on the right, whose cross was converted with a first-time shot by the French striker.
Ngog was not nearly as clinical with his next chance, ballooning a header up in the air after Dirk Kuyt had nodded back Glen Johnson's hanging cross to the far post.
Kuyt's 30-yard half-volley was much better, forcing Green to tip the ball around his left-hand post as Liverpool ended the half in complete control.
Second period
West Ham replaced Junior Stanislas with Guillermo Franco for the second half but in truth everyone except Cole could have been substituted without complaint.
Kuyt's quick break and cross from the byline almost picked out Ngog at the near post as the hosts continued to dominate.
Having experienced mostly bad luck in a season which saw early exits from the Champions League and Premier League title race and numerous injuries to key players, Liverpool enjoyed another kindly bounce of the ball.
If Benayoun's goal was fortuitous the third was even more lucky as Kyrgiakos' shot from Gerrard's 59th-minute free-kick crashed back off the post, hit Green and bounced back into the net.
Gerrard was denied a fourth only by the slightest deflection off centre-back Manuel da Costa.
West Ham's frustrations continued to grow but referee Peter Walton showed leniency to Robert Kovac by only booking the midfielder when he grabbed the official's shoulder and gave him a push.
Even with the game over the hosts still pushed forward and Rodriguez's whipped near-post shot had Green scrambling to keep the ball from crossing the line at the second attempt while Kuyt's ambitious overhead kick showed confidence was certainly not lacking.
Unfortunately for both Liverpool and West Ham, they will need much more than that if their seasons are not to end in disappointment and heartbreak respectively.
| Liverpool |
Team Statistics |
West Ham United |
| 3 |
Goals |
0 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 11 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 9 |
Corners |
2 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
1 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 83.6 |
Passing Success |
69.5 |
| 33 |
Tackles |
34 |
| 66.7 |
Tackles Success |
58.8 |
| 66 |
Possession |
34 |
| 49.9 |
Territorial Advantage |
50.1 |
|
