Daniel Sturridge scored on his long-awaited injury comeback as Liverpool cruised to victory against West Ham at Anfield.
Having failed to convert their dominance into goals in the first half, Raheem Sterling put Liverpool ahead just six minutes after the restart with a composed finish.
Philippe Coutinho provided the assist for Sterling and was on hand again after 80 minutes to set up Sturridge who marked his first Premier League appearance since August with a powerful strike into the bottom corner.
The win stretches Liverpool’s unbeaten run to seven and they climb above West Ham into seventh place in the table.
Liverpool made one change from the midweek Capital One Cup semi-final defeat to Chelsea as Adam Lallana replaced Steven Gerrard in the starting line-up.
West Ham travelled to Merseyside without key defenders Carl Jenkinson and James Tomkins, while leading scorer Diafra Sakho was pulled out of the squad following recent controversy with Senegal.
The match started openly with both teams playing on the break and Liverpool created the better of the first-half opportunities.
Sterling, playing once again in a deep-lying forward role, was a constant threat and set up Coutinho with a superb backheel, only for the Brazilian to see his effort saved by Adrian at the goalkeeper’s near post.
Sterling also provided a chance for stand-in captain Jordan Henderson who shot straight at Adrian from 15 yards, while former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll saw a header saved by Simon Mignolet at the opposite end.
Lazar Markovic should have put Liverpool ahead in first-half stoppage time when he latched on to a misplaced pass from Stewart Downing to go through on goal but pulled his effort wide of the target.
The miss capped a frustrating half for Liverpool but they came out firing after the restart and took the lead just six minutes later. Coutinho’s wonderful through ball sent Sterling through on goal and the England forward calmly slotted past Adrian from eight yards out.
West Ham lost Carroll, James Collins and Winston Reid to injury in the second half and never looked like getting back into the game, but for a brief foray forward from Enner Valencia who saw a low effort saved by Mignolet.
Sturridge came on to a standing ovation in the 68th minute and it didn’t take long for him to find the goalscoring touch Liverpool have missed this season.
After more clever play from Coutinho, the England striker drove a low shot beyond Adrian from a tight angle and celebrated in front of the Kop – his first goal since the opening day of the season.
Liverpool have now won three games in a row and kept three consecutive clean sheets, leaving the Reds just four points adrift of the Champions League places.
