Liverpool claim Hammers triumph

Liverpool returned to winning ways in comfortable fashion with a 3-0 victory but their task was made easy by a woeful West Ham side at Anfield.

Goals from Glen Johnson and Maxi Rodriguez, either side of a Dirk Kuyt penalty, were enough to wrap up the points in the first half.

Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green kept the score down with a string of saves as the pressure mounted on manager Avram Grant.

With Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard out for a month with a hamstring tear manager Roy Hodgson called for his players to step up to fill the void and the Barclays Premier League's bottom side provide the perfect opposition.

The visiting fans were less than impressed and directed their anger at manager Avram Grant with chants of 'you're getting sacked in the morning'.

It is unlikely Liverpool will have an easier game this season and it was the ideal tonic for them after two poor performances in a 1-1 draw at Wigan and last Saturday's defeat at Stoke which ended a six-game unbeaten run.

Raul Meireles looked better in a more accustomed central position, filling Gerrard's place, while Johnson and Rodriguez also did well and even the much-criticised Christian Poulsen had his best game since joining in the summer.

If there was one criticism it was that Hodgson's side eased up so much after the break they lost all the momentum and rhythm built up in the first half.

But they never looked in danger of conceding and the clean sheet was Jose Reina's 134th in all competitions, taking him past Tommy Lawrence into fourth on the club's all-time list.

West Ham's league record at Anfield is woeful, as they have not won this fixture for 47 years and scored just four Premier League goals in 16 attempts.