Liverpool have moved into sixth position in the Premier League table courtesy of a 2-1 win over West Ham United at the London Stadium on Wednesday night.
Lucas Paqueta made the breakthrough in the 12th minute with a rasping strike from distance, but Cody Gakpo levelled the scores in the 18th minute before Joel Matip's thumping header decided the contest in the 67th minute.
The victory is Liverpool's third in a row in the league, and it has moved Jurgen Klopp's side into sixth spot, just six points behind fourth-placed Manchester United, although the Red Devils have two games in hand on their bitter rivals.
A mistake from Virgil van Dijk handed West Ham an opening in the fourth minute of the contest, but Jarrod Bowen could not pick out Michail Antonio with a cross, as Liverpool escaped a dangerous moment early on.
The visitors had a chance of their own in the seventh minute when Gakpo released Mohamed Salah, but the Egypt international's strike was brilliantly blocked by West Ham defender Nayef Aguerd.
West Ham took the lead in the 12th minute of the contest, with Paqueta combining with Antonio before beating Alisson Becker with a brilliant strike from outside the box.
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Liverpool were only behind for six minutes, though, with Gakpo levelling the scores in the 18th minute.
The Netherlands international took control of a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold in a crowded area before striking towards his goal, and his effort found the bottom corner past Lukasz Fabianski.
Both teams had opportunities to register in the period that followed, with Said Benrahma missing the target for West Ham, before Diogo Jota scooped one over the crossbar from a dangerous position down the other end after Kurt Zouma's clearance had been blasted against Jordan Henderson.
Van Dijk was next to come close, with the centre-back heading an Andrew Robertson corner wide of the post in the 36th minute, before Jota directed the ball wide from close range after Henderson had flicked a Salah cross towards his teammate, with Liverpool threatening a second late in the first period.
The final chance of the first half actually came for West Ham, but Antonio could not make contact on Benrahma's dangerous low cross into the box after smart work from Bowen, with the two teams entering the half-time break at 1-1 after a lively opening 45 minutes of action.
West Ham thought that they had regained the lead in the 55th minute of the contest through Bowen, who found the far corner of the net with a brilliant finish, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR check, with the attacker just in an offside position earlier in the move.
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Alexander-Arnold curled one over the crossbar in the 64th minute, before Fabianski made a smart save to deny Matip, with Liverpool threatening a second at the London Stadium.
The Reds took the lead shortly after, with Matip's bullet header from a Robertson corner giving Fabianski no chance between the West Ham sticks.
The hosts almost carved out an opportunity to level in the 73rd minute when Bowen released Danny Ings behind the Liverpool defence, but Alisson exited his goal to make the clearance.
Maxwel Cornet fired over the Liverpool goal in the 79th minute after smart work from Declan Rice, before Tomas Soucek headed over for the hosts five minutes later; there was another chance for David Moyes's side in the 86th minute, with Alisson getting down well to keep out Bowen's attempt.
West Ham then had a strong shout for a penalty when Thiago handled the ball inside the box, but the referee was not interested and VAR agreed, with Liverpool surviving the late pressure to claim all three points.
Next up for Liverpool is a home game against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon, while West Ham, who are 14th in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone, will continue their league campaign away to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Matt Law
