Liverpool lean on Van Dijk to dig themselves out of a hole of their own making

Another stale second half performance afforded West Ham a deserved equaliser, but the skipper has the final word.

Football makes hypocrites of us all. Arne Slot has repeatedly lamented the fixation on the short-term high of results at the expense of the longer-term analysis based on performance. However, after watching his team swagger into a halftime lead courtesy of Luis Diaz, only to stagger to a win thanks to late heroics from skipper Virgil Van Dijk, Liverpool’s head coach knows that points in the bag at this stage of the season are all that matter. A 13th home league win of the season - over a West Ham side who can leave with pride if not points - stretched the lead at the top to a likely unassailable 13 points.

Man of the moment Mohamed Salah didn’t get the goal that the occasion craved, but his assist for Diaz was a record 45th goal involvement in a 38-game season, and his influence was stamped all over everything good his team achieved before the break. The story of Liverpool’s season has so often featured a second half improvement, but this was the opposite. Just as with Wolves in February, the attacking power that flowed so freely completely dried up after the break, and spirited opponents took the initiative. Van Dijk will get the glory, but he was indebted to the man who stood behind him. Alisson finally cleared the concussion protocol this week and not a minute too soon, as he proved once again the difference between good and great.

While the news around Salah’s new contract did a good job of silencing any negativity caused by last Sunday’s defeat at Fulham, Slot had clearly not forgotten what he saw. Four changes were more than usual between league fixtures, even accounting for the return from injury of first-choice options Alisson and Conor Bradley. Kostas Tsimikas came in on the other flank, with Luis Diaz returning ahead of him. Darwin Nunez was absent from the squad amid rumours of a training ground incident.

Graham Potter, as anticipated, curbed his natural attacking instincts to reprise the back five that worked so well in their victory at the Emirates last month. Teenager Ollie Scarles had the task of dealing with Salah, serenaded loud and long whenever the ball came within his orbit. With such a clogged back line, it was clear from early on that runs in behind would be a potent weapon. Diogo Jota, Curtis Jones, Bradley & Salah all tested the West Ham line but fell foul of the offside flag. Further opportunities failed to materialise when Ryan Gravenberch decided not to pull the trigger on a forward ball more than once.

Soon after, Ibrahima Konate showed him the error of his ways. The Frenchman’s passing ability was under scrutiny, having been once again sacrificed when chasing the game at Craven Cottage, but he was immaculate, whether punching short passes between the lines to his midfielders or pinging long bombs to the wide forwards. One such grenade found Salah, whose delicious control wasn’t matched by the finish.

That mistake was corrected within seconds. Another perfectly aimed pass from Konate found the Egyptian in space, arrowing towards the box. Rather than cutting inside to find the far corner, this time, we saw the other Salah trademark - an arcing ball with the outside of his foot that was missed by Jota but rolled into the path of Diaz to tap home.

The collective sigh of relief was stifled soon after as the visitors fashioned their first and second openings in quick succession. Mohammed Kudus slid a pass beside Tsimikas into the path of the onrushing Carlos Soler. Alisson rushed off his line to smother before getting back to his feet in time to tip Kudus’ curling shot onto the post. It was a timely reminder not only of the Brazilian’s quality but the fragile nature of a one-goal advantage.

Liverpool addressed the need for a great cushion with urgency, armed with a simple plan - feed Salah early and often. He came into this game keen to put on a show befitting of the odds-on favourite for player of the year, attacking the game with all of the menace that had been absent in recent weeks. Scarles barely had time to gulp in some oxygen between attacks, frantically waving Max Kilman, Lucas Paqueta or anyone in white over to double up. Many column inches and podcast minutes have been spent on the reasons behind his seemingly annual Spring Salah slump, but it’s notable that his vigour has returned with a full-time right back behind him.

As the half continued without a second goal, West Ham began to cause problems at the other end. Kudus was finding pockets of space from which to drive at the heart of the Liverpool midfield, sending a pair of vicious piledrivers inches off target. With three centre-backs and the delivery of James Ward-Prowse, set pieces were always going to be a potent threat for the Londoners. Slot insisted that his team are statistically the best in the league at defending corners, but they left Konstantinos Mavrapanos unmarked in the centre of the box.

The look on his manager’s face as he slumped crestfallen into his seat was a great indicator of how big of a chance the Greek wasted. His countryman created the first chance of the second half. Tsimikas was chopped down on the corner of the penalty area, and Alexis Mac Allister whipped the resultant free-kick at pace towards the top corner, denied by Alphonse Areola’s strong palm.

Ward-Prowse stuck out a strong palm of his own when defending a Liverpool corner, but referee Andy Madley and VAR John Brookes deemed it unworthy of a spot-kick. It was a surprise, considering the penalty awarded to Brighton 24 hours before, and another source of frustration for the home crowd. The press resistance of Kudus and Paqueta was a growing problem, allowing West Ham to retain possession and create dangerous openings. Soler should have done better with Jarrod Bowen’s centre on the hour, and suddenly, white shirts were first to every second ball.

Slot sent on Cody Gakpo and Andrew Robertson for Jota and Tsimikas, but that didn’t stem the tide. Paqueta had acres of space to find the pass to match Bowen’s well-timed run, but again, his shot bounced off of the Brazilian wall in Liverpool’s goal. It wasn't long before he was pushing another Kudus shot out of harm’s way after a neat one-two with Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

Dominik Szoboszlai was the next man tasked with solving the Paqueta problem, but the players on the pitch knew that the most effective method was to score another goal. Where the attacks in the first half were plenty and with purpose, in the second half, they were rushed and aimless. Potter sensed the moment by introducing two forwards with just over ten minutes remaining.

Slot, in turn, sent for Endo in place of Salah, who had been starved of the ball for most of the second half. Just as the goalscorer supreme exited the fray, Liverpool needed another goal. Wan-Bissaka narrowly beat the offside line and delivered a dangerous ball into the centre. Van Dijk, who had seconds earlier clattered through Robertson to reach a ball that the Scot had under control, delivered even more pain to his long-term teammate by whacking his shins with a clearance that dribbled into the corner of the net. 86 minutes gone, and West Ham had finally got what they deserved.

Some would question whether Liverpool deserve the Premier League title, given their recent poor form. The man who will likely lift that trophy delivered the perfect riposte. With injury time beckoning, Liverpool’s tenth corner finally delivered a shot on target. Van Dijk eliminated his error for the equaliser by powering a free header into the bottom corner.

The seven minutes of injury time were wracked with tension, especially when Niclas Fullkrug rattled the crossbar with Alisson for once unable to help. However, those in red gritted their teeth and got over the line. Slot greeted the Kop with two fists raised in relief, in joy, in defiance. If they can take advantage of Leicester’s home woes on Easter Sunday, the next time Liverpool play at home, they could confirm the title with a victory. At that point, talk of second half staleness will melt away. It doesn’t matter if you crawl over the finish line - as long as you cross it first.