Liverpool won by one goal at West Ham and boosted their hopes of securing European football next season.
The Hammers took the lead in the 12th minute when Lucas Piqueta played a one-two with Mikel Antonio and fired past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson from 20 yards.
But the advantage lasted less than six minutes before Cody Gakpo equalized with his own shot from outside the penalty area.
West Ham thought they had gone back in front with Jarrod Bowen’s angled strike but the England forward was ruled offside by the video assistant referee to keep it 1-1.
Joel Matip scored the winner in the 67th minute with a powerful header from Andy Robertson’s corner from the left.
There was a late scare for Liverpool when Thiago was handled in the penalty area, with Hammers boss David Moyes furious that the decision was not given by on-field referees Chris Kavanagh or Niall Swarbrick on video assistant referee duty.
Moyes confronted Kavanagh at the final whistle, still angry at the decision which cost his side a point.
Liverpool still hoping to salvage something from difficult campaign
It has been a difficult season for Liverpool, who finished second in 2021-22, losing by a point to Manchester City as the title race went down to the final day of the season.
They were knocked out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup, competitions they won last season, at the fourth-round stage and were beaten 6-2 on aggregate by Real Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League.
So, missing out on European football altogether would be a big blow for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
They will have to settle for the Europa League at best and finish fifth or sixth to qualify for the second-tier European competition, while seventh places them in the play-offs for the third-tier Europa Conference League. will leave
The win moves them into sixth and above Tottenham on goal difference, although Champions League football looks ahead of the Reds as they are six points behind third-placed Newcastle and fourth-placed Manchester United, both sides having fewer games. At least one game left.
“If we win all our games, we will be in Europe,” Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said. “People ask me about the Champions League but it’s out of our hands because we don’t play any of the teams above us.
“I would like to finish the season on my own, then we can move on to next season.
“I want to get something out of this season. If it’s a European competition, that’s great; if not, we have to accept it.
“For a few weeks, I want us to show our real faces instead of a good face in one game, then an ugly face in the next.”
West Ham miss chance to secure Premier League survival
After West Ham’s 4-0 thrashing of Bournemouth at the weekend, Antonio said they needed a victory to ensure they stayed in the Premier League.
The Hammers made a bright start at the London Stadium as Paqueta scored the first goal of the game.
But the Reds, with Trent Alexander-Arnold in a dual role – on the right but with the freedom to move into midfield when Liverpool were in possession – were soon level after Gekpo’s pass finished.
Diego Jota could have made it 2-1 and should have done better when the ball rebounded into his path but shot over the top, and he only glanced a header wide from four yards.
However, West Ham had more chances in the first half. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk denied Antonio a special goal from close range with a crucial block from Said Benirhama’s angled ball.
The resulting corner went to Antonio but the Jamaican striker could only see his header wide of the mark.
In the second half, Matip, who started in place of the injured Ibrahim Konate, was blocked on the line by Lukasz Fabianski but then scored with a powerful header after a corner was cleared.
West Ham had chances to equalise, but Tomas Sucic headed over and Bowen saved a low strike as Liverpool won their third in a row.
