Liverpool continued their push for Champions League football next season with an emphatic 5-2 win over West Ham United at Anfield Stadium on Saturday.

Hugo Ekitike opened the scoring for Liverpool five minutes into the encounter when the France international put a low shot past Mads Hermansen from an assist by Ryan Gravenberch.

Virgil van Dijk doubled the lead in the 24th minute when he headed home a corner kick by Dominik Szoboszlai before Alexis Mac Allister made it 3-0 close to halftime when the Argentine volleyed home a ball from Ekitike.

Meanwhile, Tomas Soucek pulled one back for West Ham in the 49th minute when he guided home Malick Diouf’s pass from close range. Cody Gakpo restored Liverpool’s three-goal advantage in the 70th as his shot inside the box was deflected into the net.

Five minutes later, Valentin Castellanos reduced the deficit again through a header from Jarrod Bowen’s corner-kick, but an own goal from Axel Disasi ensured the match finished 5-2 in favour of Liverpool.

The Reds have increased their tally to 48 points alongside Manchester United, but can leapfrog the Red Devils if they lose to Crystal Palace by two goals or more on Sunday.

In the other matches, Everton secured a 3-2 away win against Newcastle United at the Saint James’ Park. Jarrad Branthwaite put Everton ahead in the 19th minute before Jacob Ramsey equalised for Newcastle 13 minutes later.

Beto restored Everton’s advantage in the 34th minute to give the visitors a halftime lead. The game was silent until the 82nd minute when Jacob Murphy brought Newcastle back into the game again, but Everton responded less than 60 seconds later through Thierno Barry to grab the three points.

At Turf Moor, Burnley lost 4-3 at home to Brentford, while Bournemouth and Sunderland settled for a 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium.

Full results

Liverpool 5 vs 2 West Ham United

Newcastle United 2 vs 3 Everton

Burnley 3 vs 4 Brentford

Bournemouth 1 vs 1 Sunderland