On Wednesday night in the Premier League, Liverpool defeated West Ham 1-0 thanks to Darwin Nunez’s first goal at Anfield.
During a goalless first half in which Jarrod Bowen also missed a penalty, the Uruguayan gave the Reds a well-deserved lead. But as West Ham eventually got into the game, Liverpool occasionally had to hold on in the second half.
Early on, Liverpool had a narrow advantage, and 15 minutes in, Nunez created the first real chance. The summer signing, who had few other options, unleashed a fierce dipping volley from the edge of the box that forced an outstanding save from Lukasz Fabianski.
After an outstanding Kostas Tsimikas cross, Nunez went one better by scoring with a nice header just over five minutes later.
West Ham got off to a fast start in the second half, displaying more zeal within the first five minutes than they had in the first 45, and they continued to pose the Liverpool defense with some ambiguous questions.
Liverpool, however, was mere millimeters away from adding a second. Roberto Firmino was the recipient of a cut-back from Jordan Henderson, but Aaron Cresswell deflected the Brazilian’s shot wide.
Late in the game, Mohamed Salah—who had been relatively quiet—found himself one-on-one with Fabianski, but the Hammers goalkeeper was quick off his line to end the threat.