Liverpool’s record signing Alexander Isak scored his first Premier League goal for the Reds as the under-pressure champions displayed woeful form with a much-needed 2-0 win over West Ham United on Sunday.
Liverpool had gone through their worst period in over seventy years, losing nine of their previous twelve games. Manager Arne Slot took drastic measures, leaving Mohamed Salah out of his starting line-up for the first time in the Premier League.
Salah’s replacement Florian Wirtz looked sharp, although he squandered Liverpool’s best chance of the first half with his tame effort from close range, allowing Alphonse Areola to save.
Isak, who was lacking in form and fitness, missed two chances before half-time and received an excellent reaction stop from Areola halfway through the break.
But the Swedish striker set up Cody Gakpo’s cutback after just an hour, giving the Reds the lead they marginally deserved and rarely looked like giving up.
Liverpool’s cause was helped by Lucas Paqueta, who was bizarrely shown two yellow cards for dissent within 60 seconds, with less than 10 minutes to play, before Gakpo added a second in the 92nd minute to seal the three points.
Liverpool’s win, only their second in eight league games, moved them up to eighth place with 21 points from 13 games, while West Ham are 17th with 11 points, level with 18th-placed Leeds United.
Aston Villa’s Kamara scores stunner to sink Wolves
An excellent strike from Boubacar Kamara gave Aston Villa a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday and moved the hosts into third place in the Premier League standings.
The visitor had the best chances in the first half and Jorgen Strand Larsen thought he had given his side the lead but was denied by the offside flag, before a sensational save from Emiliano Martinez kept the scores level just before half-time.
It wasn’t until the second half that Villa really got going, with Wolves missing a number of further chances before Kamara gave the home crowd something to shout about, firing a thunderous shot into the top corner in the 67th minute.
Villa held on to record a fifth consecutive win in all competitions and move into third place in the standings, one point behind second-placed Manchester City. Wolves remained in deep trouble, two points and nine points away from safety.
The Cupyer and Tzima’s goals help Brighton get past Nottingham Forest
Goals from Maxim De Cuyper and Stefanos Tzimas gave Brighton & Hove Albion a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday, a result that lifted Fabian Huerzeler’s side to fifth in the Premier League.
The visitor set the pace early on, firing 13 shots in the first half compared to Forest’s eight while enjoying the lion’s share of possession.
The breakthrough came in first-half stoppage time when Georginio Rutter delivered an accurate ball into the penalty area to find an unmarked De Cuyper in acres of space. The Belgian full-back calmly fired past Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels to register his second league goal of the campaign.
Brighton sealed the victory in the 88th minute when 19-year-old Greek striker Tzimas met a poor header from Forest defender Morato.
Forest had gone into the match on the back of back-to-back wins in the league, including a 3-0 victory over champions Liverpool.
Despite showing promise, Sean Dyche’s side failed to break the visitors’ determined defense and now sit 16th in the table with 12 points. Brighton have 22, one behind Chelsea in fourth, who have a game in hand.
Published on November 30, 2025
