West Ham vs Liverpool Player Ratings

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

The Reds were the dominant side early on but the Hammers took control after Matt Jarvis kicked into gear down the left flank and sent in a flurry of crosses to trouble the Liverpool defence. 

Glen Johnson had helped Liverpool secure the lead with a wonderful left-footed strike but a penalty by Mark Noble and an own goal by Steven Gerrard helped the home side go into the break with the lead. 

Diame needed to be stretchered off in the 73rd minute and Liverpool were back in the game and further goals by Joe Cole and an own goal by James Collins sealed a much-needed away win for Brendan Rodgers' side. 

ESPNSTAR.com rates the players from an excellent game which didn't really miss Luis Suarez's presence, as the Uruguayan had to sit out the game due to a one-match suspension after collecting five yellow cards. 

West Ham

Jussi Jaaskelainen - 6.5

The West Ham stopper can't really be faulted for the three goals let in but could have benefitted from some better communication with his defenders. 

Guy Demel (off 45') - 6.5

He was tidy down the right but lacked the pace to really track the likes of Raheem Sterling and Stewart Downing. 

Winston Reid - 7.5 

The New Zealander was a terrific player for the home side as he placed his body in the line of many a shot by the Liverpool players. 

James Collins - 7

Collins was unfortunate that the cross in from the right took a deflection off his foot and looped over Jaaskelainen for the goal. Otherwise, he put in a good showing and regularly cleared the ball whenever it was sent into the box. 

Joey O'Brien - 6.5

Did a decent job shielding the defence but could have contributed to the attack more often. 

Mark Noble - 7.5 

The West Ham captain made no mistake with his penalty and combined well with Jarvis down the left. 

Mohamed Diame (off 73') - 8.5 

Senegal must be thankful that Diame has developed so brilliantly over the past few months. The combative midfielder was always there to harass the ball off the likes of Sterling and Allen, making it very difficult for Liverpool to gather a moment of respite as the home side upped the intensity. 

Moreover, he regularly rampaged forward in a manner that can bring a fair comparison to the performances normally seen by other mercurial players such as Ramires and Yaya Toure. 

Unfortunately, he was stretchered off after collecting a hamstring injury (which rules him out for 12 weeks) but on this showing, as well as that against Chelsea a couple of weeks back, Diame definitely appears to the best free transfer of the summer. 

Kevin Nolan - 7.5 

The ex-Newcastle player was sharp with his dribbling and regularly laid the ball off to a nearby team-mate. His usual quest for a goal appeared to have been replaced by a willingness to put in a team effort in this game. 

Matthew Taylor (off 86') - 7

Employed down the right, Taylor made several forays into the box and connected with many left-wing crosses. Unfortunately for the home fans, few were on target. 

Matt Jarvis - 8

Jarvis was excellent down the left and knew when to send in a cross as well as the exact power and elevation to put into the delivery. 

Carlton Cole - 8

But Jarvis would not have appeared so good a winger if Cole did not demonstrate the intelligence to jump at the right time to connect with the cross. Also, he managed to make space for himself in the unlikeliest of manner and somehow managed to get on the end of long balls.

It was yet another performance befitting the role of a target man and the Englishman held up the ball for just the time required for his team-mates to transition from defence to attack. 

Substitutes

George McCartney (on 45') - 6

He came on for Demel over the break but didn't really assert himself much in the game as his crosses weren't as effective as the ones sent in by Jarvis.

Tomkins (on 73') - 6

When coming on for the impressive Diame, expectations would naturally have been high and the 23-year-old fares poorly when making such a comparison. 

Maiga (off 86') - N/A

Liverpool

Jose Reina - 6.5

The Spaniard decided to be confident and handled West Ham's aerial threat by trying to come forward and punch the ball away. It was the right strategy and seemed to work early on but all the hard work was undone when captain Steven Gerrard managed to head the ball past him late in the first half. Being brave in this manner can only work if a goalkeeper's handling skills are top-notch in the game as otherwise it puts the defenders under needless pressure and can result in careless mistakes. 

Glen Johnson - 7.5

The right-back was superb when considering his attacking contributions but it was telling that Jarvis managed to be such an influence down the left within the game. The repeated attempts to charge down the right wing tired the full-back and made him less of an effective marker when rushing back to help out the defence. 

Jose Enrique (off 27') - 7 

Enrique was doing a decent job and even had a shot but he had to come off early into the game after picking up an injury. 

Martin Skrtel - 7.5

The Slovakian was a strong presence although his inability to clear the ball effectively caused some problems for the defence. 

Daniel Agger - 7.5 

Unlike Skrtel, Agger was a bit more comfortable on the ball and was always there to head the ball away whenever Jarvis swung in a cross from the left. 

Lucas Leiva (off 71') - 7

The Brazilian was impressive early on but couldn't really win the ball on a regular basis as the game wore on. 

Joe Allen (off 86') - 7

Allen was happy passing the ball around but he needs to focus them more vertically instead of just being content with short and cross-field passes. 

Gerrard - 7.5

Another lion-hearted display by the Liverpool captain although it is quite apparent that Gerrard lacks the quick reflexes needed to fire a shot at goal as effectively as he used to be able to do. 

Sterling - 7.5 

The 18-year-old was again immense down the flanks and showed superb instincts to send in a first-time pass to free Cole inside the box. He could have gotten a goal for himself as well if he just had the maturity to nod the ball past his marker in the second half, giving him the time to take on Jaaskelainen. Instead, it was hit with too much strength and the goalkeeper managed to come out of the box and clear it just in the nick of time. 

Stewart Downing - 7

The fact that Downing played better as a left-back speaks volumes about his lack of ability. However, he did help hold the fort when his side got the lead 12 minutes from time. 

Jonjo Shelvey - 7.5

The false nine for the day took his time to really get into the groove and, on one particular occasion, danced around the challenges of several West Ham players inside the box that would have made Suarez proud. 

However, Shelvey's positioning off the ball needs improvement if he truly wishes to be considered for the role once more in the future. 

Substitutes

Joe Cole (on 27') - 7.5 

The ex-West Ham player did well to score his first Premier League goal in 20 months as he did not fire instantly when Sterling's pass found him inside the box. His composure proved crucial as he managed to figure out the exact angle that would take the ball past a diving defender and a determined Jaaskelainen. 

Jordan Henderson (on 71') - 7.5

It was an efficient performance from the youngster and it was his cross that earned a deflection off Collins for the crucial winner. 

Sebastian Coates (on 86') - N/A

Brought on to help prevent the conceding of another goal, Coates did all that he was asked in the few minutes of his brief cameo.