Relieved Isak ends his drought as Liverpool spirited lifted by win

For long spells nothing happened. At one point it was so quiet you could hear a distant plane droning by. But Liverpool will not care.

- Jonathan Wilson

Sometimes you have to get back on the horse however you can, and if that requires a stepladder, an awkward bunk from a scornful stablehand and an ungainly scramble into the saddle, so be it.

Any sort of victory is welcome after six defeats in their past seven league games, and one in which Britain's most expensive player finally scores his first league goal for the club even more so.

The history books will record that Liverpool won their second league game in 71 days, that Alexander Isak scored his first league goal since his acrimonious move from Newcastle, and that Cody Gakpo added a late second with a smart swivel, but the history books did not have to sit through that first half. It is the nature of the London Stadium that bad games seem worse than elsewhere because everything seems so distant, and the nature of West Ham in recent times that there are a lot of bad games.

The main intrigue came with the release of the lineups. As Liverpool's wobble became a blip became a slump, the question was asked: what would it take for Mohamed Salah to be left out? The answer, it turned out, was three or more goals conceded in three successive games for the first time in 75 years. At some point, a flair player who leaves his fullback exposed is a luxury a team can no longer afford.