Virgil van Dijk headed an 89th-minute winner as Liverpool beat West Ham 2-1 and moved within six points of the Premier League title.
The captain struck three minutes after Andy Robertson’s own goal had cancelled out Luis Díaz’s first-half opener at Anfield.
Salah creates the opener and sets another record
Liverpool started quickly after a period of silence marking the approaching anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. Díaz and Conor Bradley both threatened before Mohamed Salah unlocked West Ham in the 18th minute.
Salah rolled Ollie Scarles and bent an outside-of-the-boot cross into the six-yard box, where Díaz finished from close range.
The assist gave Salah 45 goals and assists in the league that season, the highest total in a 38-game Premier League campaign. He had 27 goals and 18 assists, passing the mark of 44 shared by Thierry Henry and Erling Haaland.
West Ham fight back after the break
Alisson kept Liverpool ahead with two saves from Carlos Soler before half-time. West Ham increased the pressure after the break, although Alexis Mac Allister first struck the bar with a free-kick for the hosts.
The Liverpool goalkeeper denied Jarrod Bowen in a one-on-one and pushed away Mohammed Kudus’s low drive. The equaliser finally came in the 86th minute when Van Dijk reached Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross but diverted the ball against Robertson and into his own net.
Van Dijk answers with the winning header
Liverpool responded immediately. Díaz hit the bar with a deflected shot, and Van Dijk climbed above the defence to head the resulting corner past Alphonse Areola.
Niclas Füllkrug struck the bar in stoppage time, but Liverpool held on in front of 60,376 supporters.
“I heard Robertson shout, but these things unfortunately happen,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “It was time to make it right, and luckily we did.”
Liverpool close in on the title
The win put Arne Slot’s side 13 points clear of Arsenal with six matches left. Slot praised the response after Liverpool’s Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain.
“We don’t win games the easy way,” he said. “If we achieve something this year, it’s mainly to do with the mentality the players have shown.”
West Ham manager Graham Potter felt his team deserved at least a point after creating several clear chances in the second half.
