West Ham 0 Liverpool 4: Jurgen Klopp crushes Hammers at London Stadium to put pressure on Arsenal

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Philippe Coutinho's brace ensured Liverpool's hopes of securing Champions League football were kept alive on Sunday as the Reds thrashed West Ham 4-0 at the London Stadium.

After a bright start by the visitors, Liverpool got the breakthrough in the 35th minute when Coutinho's superb through-ball fell to Daniel Sturridge who rounded Adrian to slot in the opener.

Coutinho then worked his magic in the second half to score twice within four minutes to put the game out of sight for the Hammers before Divock Origi rounded off the victory with his tap-in in the 76th minute.

The result means Jurgen Klopp's side move back into third place, one point above Manchester City and four above Arsenal while West Ham remain in 12th place after yet another heavy loss to a top-six side.

REUTERS

Liverpool came into the game under pressure following other results on Saturday, which first saw Manchester City move into third place in the standings with a 2-1 win over Leicester while Arsenal climbed up to within a point of Klopp's side with their 4-1 victory in Stoke.

But despite the importance of the game to the Reds, it was West Ham who threatened first when Sam Byram sent a low effort just wide of the far post in the seventh minute.

Liverpool responded through Joel Matip, who should have opened the scoring for the visitors just three minutes later but instead headed Coutinho's corner kick downward onto the pitch and off the underside of the bar.

It was a huge let-off for the hosts, who followed the chance up by going down the other end of the pitch and forcing Simon Mignolet into a one-handed save.

REUTERS

Edimilson Fernandes, who started due to Mark Noble and Cheikhou Kouyate's absences following surgery on their respective long-term injuries, sent a half-volley toward goal which the Belgian kept out but it wasn't long before a goal came.

Coutinho delivered an accurate through-ball to Sturridge in the 35th minute who then rounded Adrian and confidently fired in a low effort.

West Ham remained positive despite trailing, and should have equalised minutes before the break when Andre Ayew latched onto a corner kick but twice hit the post.

REUTERS

It proved a warning sign for the visitors, who emerged after the break seemingly intent on finishing off the game - although Adrian's three successive saves denied Origi, Adam Lallana and then Georginio Wijnaldum in the 46th minute.

The Reds continued to push forward, however, and were rewarded when Coutinho followed up Wijnaldum's effort that had crashed off the bar by skipping past two West Ham defenders to drive in Liverpool's second.

REUTERS

His next came off the back of some controversy when Wijnaldum appeared to handle the ball while catching Reid in the face with his arm, but referee Neil Swarbrick waved away West Ham's appeals which allowed the Reds to break.

Coutinho weaved in and out of the West ham defence to send a low effort into the goal to put the game out of sight for Slaven Bilic's side before Origi added gloss to the scoreline with his tap-in from inside the box with 14 minutes to go.

REUTERS

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