Neil Atkinson’s post-match review for The Anfield Wrap after Liverpool 5 West Ham United 1 in the 2024-2025 League Cup third round…
THE delight on the pitch when Cody Gakpo makes it four somewhat dwarves the context he makes it four in.
League Cup, third round, home: they have only one goal on the board and they are down to 10 men.
But that doesn’t matter to Gakpo or his teammates who flock to him. Because his season in front of goal is up and running.
Gakpo was excellent here and excellent in Milan and has been perfectly fine from the bench, in that from the bench can be hard. But being excellent when you are a forward isn’t quite enough. You need and want goals. Goals aren’t the cherry on the cake, they are the cake. They do indeed pay the rent and Gakpo wants to do his share.
He didn’t want to reach October with a zero in the column. It’s important not to overlook this, to downplay its importance. It influences the game of every forward, albeit to differing degrees.
No matter the manager and no matter the player, at some point a shortage of goals bites and destroys confidence. Gakpo has been brimming with confidence so far this season, but one goal led to a second and gives the manager the traditional “good problem to have”.
Being honest, unless there is some bad news on the horizon, only the goalkeeper position is up for debate prior to Wolverhampton Wanderers with that debate being “is it worth risking Alisson at this stage of the season?”
Caoimhin Kelleher was quietly marvellous against West Ham United. He commands his six yard box oddly unobtrusively, in that he never gives it the big I am. He comes for a cross, drilled across his box and gets his body behind it. His distribution is excellent on both sides, which is a clear improvement on his performances in the early part of last season.
He looks comfortable in his skin, a top quality number one in waiting.
His run of games last season won’t only have given him confidence, but a body of work to look back on, assess and improve upon. The standards being what they are, the idea of time to assess and improve is massive and will be culturally drilled into these footballers and within that team within a team of the goalkeepers.
Joe Gomez showed once again that he is indeed an expert central defender and there should be no fears about any game where the decision is made to opt for him ahead of Virgil van Dijk.
That isn’t to say he is at van Dijk’s level because no one is. It is to say that football teams across the world manage to win games and keep clean sheets without Virgil van Dijk. And that if we want the best possible van Dijk for the longest possible time then perhaps Joe Gomez starting ahead of him next week at Anfield against Bologna is no bad thing.
First half, Curtis Jones played a bit too much like the version of Curtis Jones people have in their heads to have a pop at, but second half was marvellous. His every involvement in the second goal was exceptional, operating across 80 yards before the most delightful through ball put it on a plate for Diogo Jota.
Jones can support in all three midfield roles and this is something we may see across the next week.
Jota himself scored two of his three goals in this one, just missing a barnstorming Roger Jackson in the 110m hurdles run through them (one for the teenagers there), but instead offering “opportunistic header” and “cool one-on-one finish”.
He’s a marvellous goalscorer and a marvellous goalscorer of significant goals. On this evening, an equaliser and the goal to go ahead.
Darwin Nunez played well, Mo Salah got his name on the scoresheet, Federico Chiesa looked like he needed an hour, but looked bright. Wataru Endo’s second half was also better than his first and his game simplified is always his game improved.
Liverpool played well. First half, quite well as individuals and, second half, very well as a collective. West Ham United were well supported, but grew crabby on the pitch – though they weren’t four goals worse.
But goals are the cake not the cherry and Liverpool have them, organisation and depth in abundance.
You have those three things and you keep them in good shape then there is no end to what a side can be capable of.
