WEST HAM kick-started 2016 with a bang - by beating Liverpool and overtaking them in the Premier League table.
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| Andy Carroll scored West Ham's second against Liverpool |
The Hammers continued their impressive season - which had already brought wins over Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea - by moving into fifth spot ahead of the 3 pm kick offs.
West Ham managed to make it back-to-back wins - following the victory over Southampton - after their eight-game run without one after Michail Antonio's controversial header opened the scoring at Upton Park.
Antonio put the Hammers ahead 21 seconds after appearing to foul Alberto Moreno up the other end.
Antonio dived in, taking Moreno out by West Ham's corner flag, before the hosts surged forward down the right wing.
Enner Valencia delivered the ball for Antonio to head beyond Simon Mignolet after just eight minutes.
Emre Can hit the bar for Liverpool, but other than that the visitors struggled to create momentum.
The Hammers were dealt a blow just before halt time when Manuel Lanzini, who had hit the post with a strike, went off with a muscle injury.
Former Liverpool striker Andy Carroll then made it two early in the second half with a typical header at the back post.
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| Jurgen Klopp saw his side beaten and drop to eighth |
Mark Noble whipped the ball and Carroll's header was unstoppable, while at the other end Christian Benteke hit wildly over the cross bar from inside the area.
The Hammers then welcomed Dimitri Payet back for the final half an hour, as he replaced Valencia.
The result sees Liverpool drop down to eighth on the day the transfer window opened.
Klopp is expected to have a busy month after an inconsistent start to life on Merseyside.
The German has taken charge of 17 games, winning nine times, but sits just two places higher than when Brendan Rodgers was sacked after the draw with Everton in October.
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| Carroll came back to haunt Liverpool at Upton Park today |
Klopp said: "I'm really angry today because we could have got so much more because everybody could see in the moments we play football what could happen. Today, we deserved to lose.
"We always had the ball, we could have made much more chances but we didn't. We have to again accept that we didn't play like we should."
Carroll said: 'Each game you want to win and score goals, it doesn't matter if it is against a side you have played for. We don't want to get ahead of ourselves, we just want to keep winning games."
James Collins said: "We're playing with confidence, we have been pretty solid and are not conceding too many goals.
"We disappointed ourselves with how we played in the Europa League earlier this season. But this is a club that is looking that way and if we keep playing like this we won't be far off."
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