A five-star showing in London sees Liverpool eight clear at the top of the Premier League as 2025 approaches. A Mohamed Salah masterclass helped down West Ham United as the Reds ran riot in the capital with a 5-0 demolition to further their title credentials.

Assisting for Cody Gakpo after Luis Diaz had given the visitors the lead, Salah then made it 3-0 before half time before Trent Alexander-Arnold smashed in a fourth via a deflection off Max Kilman. Diogo Jota wrapped up the game late on after another stunning Salah assist.

But you knew all of that, of course. What you might have missed, however, were a series of intriguing subplots to the evening at the London Stadium. As ever, the ECHO rounds up the best of the 'moments missed'.

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Gomez offers unwanted fitness update

After taking the time to stop and take pictures with a host of younger supporters as he filed out of the London Stadium and onto the team bus, it didn't appear as though Joe Gomez was too despondent after going off injured in the first half.

However, when directly asked about the problem by the ECHO, Gomez, informally, gave the disappointing news that he had suffered a hamstring injury and was now set for a scan to discover the severity of the issue.

The long-serving centre-back even conceded that he had never suffered a hamstring problem before, so he didn't initially know exactly what the problem was before he was informed during the interval.

It's rotten luck for the defender, particularly as it's come at a time when he was providing outstanding coverage for a sidelined Ibrahima Konate, but the frankness of Gomez to deliver the update as he made his way to the exit was also given in the sort of tone that suggested he remained somewhat hopeful of the prognosis. Liverpool will learn more this week.

Alexander-Arnold's wry smile

Another who shuffled out of the mixed zone and towards the Liverpool bus was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who scored and helped keep a clean sheet just hours after he was on the front page of Spanish publication Marca on Saturday.

According to the press over in Spain, Alexander-Arnold has told Real Madrid he is prepared to leave Liverpool when his contract expires in the summer. Those claims have been roundly dismissed by Anfield sources and the 'talking' motion the vice-captain performed in celebration of his goal suggested he himself was fed up with the ongoing debate in the media about his next move.

Asked to stop to perhaps clarify the celebration and what his wider plans are at the end of the season, Alexander-Arnold was only able to flash a wry smile at the request as he carried on walking. He knew what the topic of conversation would be had he stopped and declined to intensify the chatter around it instead.

Gakpo and Robertson feel Van Dijk wrath

But it wouldn't be a 'moments missed' piece without a fume or two and that was reserved for Andy Robertson and Cody Gakpo, via captain Virgil van Dijk, for allowing a Mohammed Kudus cross to come into the box too easily for the skipper's liking in the first half.

After Ghana international Kudus was allowed to bring down a long ball with a gorgeous piece of control, he was then afforded the room to steady himself and swing in a cross, despite Gakpo and Robertson being in the general vicinity of the West Ham winger.

Unhappy with how easy it was for Kudus to deliver a threatening ball into the area, Van Dijk made an immediate beeline for his team-mates once the danger had passed to let them know that the particular piece of defending was too sloppy. The message was firmly received.

Picture tells a thousand words

Before the 'Mo Masterclass' was underway, Salah was denied early on from Gakpo's through ball by a sensational stop from goalkeeper Alphonse Areola who, despite shipping five, turned in a good performance for the hosts on the day.

In place of usual incumbent Lukasz Fabianski, former Paris Saint-Germain star Areola thwarted what appeared to be a certain goal from Salah when he got his palms on a close-range finish.

It looked for all the world like Salah would register his 20th of the season and the sheer look of incredulity on the face of Liverpool's No.11 after the save was a sight to behold. He simply couldn't believe he had been stopped from scoring, such was the quality of the save. Salah's face was a picture that told 1000 words.

Not to be denied, however, the Reds star made up for the 'miss' later in the half by finding the corner from Curtis Jones's pass.