Paqueta's Red Card Turns Mismatch Into Formality

Moyen Score Futmetrix: 42/100. Liverpool's clinical execution and West Ham's self-destruction create a technically sound but narratively hollow victory.

When Discipline Dissolves Contest

Lucas Paqueta's 84th-minute dismissal for unsportsmanlike conduct didn't decide this match—it merely formalized what had already been decided. Liverpool arrived at the London Stadium with surgical intent, and West Ham provided the canvas for their precision. Intensity flickered early, but the real story unfolded in the asymmetry of execution.

Cody Gakpo orchestrated Liverpool's dominance with the fluency of a conductor who'd already memorized the score. His 60th-minute opener—assisted by Alexander Isak's poaching instinct—arrived without fanfare because it felt inevitable. Gakpo then added a second in the 92nd minute, this time from Joe Gomez's delivery, to rubber-stamp a performance that never truly threatened to slip away. The Balance tilted decisively after the opening goal; West Ham never recovered.

The red card, arriving with six minutes remaining, transformed an already lopsided contest into an exercise in mercy. Paqueta's dismissal—the match's singular moment of genuine drama—came too late to reshape anything. By then, Liverpool's 56% possession and 87% pass accuracy had already suffocated West Ham's 44% into irrelevance. The hosts managed just seven shots total, none on target. This was control masquerading as competition.

Ibrahima Konaté's defensive masterclass went largely untested; when you're pinning an opponent in their own half, the center-back becomes a luxury. Liverpool's Stakes were moderate—a mid-table side hosting a relegation-battling team—but the execution suggested something far more consequential. The Reds treated Upton Park like a training ground, methodical and efficient but devoid of the unpredictability that makes football compelling.

West Ham's form—LDWWL entering this fixture—promised at least spirited resistance. Instead, they offered tactical passivity wrapped in desperation. Three yellow cards and a red suggested frustration rather than aggression; they were being outplayed and knew it. The xG differential (Liverpool 1.26 vs. West Ham 0.32) tells the story more honestly than any scoreline: this wasn't a contest, it was a coronation.

For Liverpool, the three points provide respite from their own inconsistency (WLLWL form). For West Ham, sitting 17th with -12 goal difference, this defeat deepens the chasm. But as spectacle? This match existed in the margins—technically proficient, tactically one-dimensional, dramatically inert until the red card arrived as a mercy killing.