Saturday 20 September 2014 20:34, UK
Sam Allardyce was delighted to see West Ham United 'surprise' Liverpool as they put in an 'outstanding' display in a 3-1 win.
An explosive start at Upton Park allowed the hosts to take complete control, with Winston Reid and Diafra Sakho netting inside the opening seven minutes.
Liverpool never really recovered, despite pulling one back through Raheem Sterling, and were beaten again in the closing stages as Morgan Amalfitano put the result beyond doubt.
Allardyce believes his side were full value for a resounding success, with new boys playing a leading role in a performance that saw West Ham impress from back to front.
He told Sky Sports: "First half was absolutely outstanding. I think, from our point of view, the way we got about our job in the first-half really took Liverpool by surprise.
"We have been looking at the quality of our finishing and trying to improve it and that was there for all to see, in fact I think we should have been maybe three or four up by half-time today. That’s how good we were.
"We always knew that Liverpool would come back but that first-half performance, for me, was absolutely outstanding.
"There are lots of new players here – Alex Song, Enner Valencia, Sakho – these lads are bedding in nice and quickly and producing really good performances. Cheick Kouyate and Aaron Cresswell, of course, and the rest of the lads have been with us before.
First half was absolutely outstanding. I think, from our point of view, the way we got about our job in the first-half really took Liverpool by surprise.
"Even in the end when Morgan Amalfitano came on and clinched that third goal, that was just at the right time because you know Liverpool are pressing at that stage and one little slip and it might have been 2-2. But we really finished Liverpool off brilliantly today."
West Ham's opener came from a Stewart Downing free-kick nodded back across the face of goal by James Tomkins, with Allardyce pleased to see his tactical approach pay off.
He added: "I think everybody is vulnerable to a set-piece when the ball is a quality ball. When you have got good headers of the ball, like James Tomkins, and the quality of Stewart Downing’s ball caught out Liverpool at the far post, that was a great start for us.
"To then go and score the second one, that was an outstanding piece of individual ability from Diafra Sakho. I don’t think anybody can take the quality of that finish away from him.
"We just continued on from there. I was disappointed that Liverpool scored a goal in the first-half because I think they only had one shot on target, and that was the goal. That’s how well we had done.
"We knew somewhere along the line Liverpool would come back at us, and they did, and it was a good defensive performance."
