Despite the absence of star player Mohamed Salah, Liverpool managed to create a clear-cut chance before the break. Virgil van Dijk's pass forward caused chaos in the West Ham defense, and Florian Wirtz had a chance to score his first Premier League goal, but his effort was easily saved by Areola.

Isak had struggled to find his footing since joining Liverpool, but he finally scored shortly before the hour mark. He worked a yard in the box and scored after Cody Gakpo found him inside the area.

West Ham never threatened Liverpool's goal in the final third, and manager Nuno Espírito Santo made an unusual decision to swap strikers, which was met with disappointment from the London Stadium crowd. The crowd felt that he should have introduced a second player up top.

West Ham's chances of getting back into the game dissipated when Lucas Paquetá was given a second yellow card for dissent, just a minute after being shown his first. This gave Liverpool a significant advantage.

The victory was a welcome relief for Arne Slot, whose side secured a pressure-relieving win to move back into the top half of the table. The game was wrapped up in stoppage time when Cody Gakpo scored from close range.