LIVERPOOL, England (Reuters) -Liverpool resumed their march to a second Premier League title on Sunday with a 2-1 victory over West Ham United as Mohamed Salah broke the record for most goal involvements in a season and Virgil van Dijk scored a late winner.
After West Ham had scored an equaliser in the 86th minute, skipper Van Dijk grabbed the winner with a header three minutes later in front of the Kop to put Liverpool two wins away from the title.
The result gave Liverpool a 13-point lead over second-placed Arsenal with six games left, while West Ham are 17th with 35 points, 14 points from the relegation zone.
Prior to kickoff, a minute's silence was held at Anfield to honour the 97 victims of the 1989 Hillsborough Stadium disaster. But the fans were in full voice soon after, chanting Salah's name to celebrate his two-year contract extension.
Van Dijk's contract expires at the end of the season but the Dutchman hinted he could stay, with a development expected next week.
"The main focus was to get three points and get a little closer to all of our dreams. Everyone knows how much I love this club, let's see what next week will look like," he said.
"I can say I'm very proud today to captain my 100th game for Liverpool. It was an emotional day with the Hillsborough anniversary."
Following a bright start for the home side, Salah duly delivered the cross for the first goal - a sublime pass with the outside of his boot that curled past the last defender and gave Luis Diaz a simple tap-in at the edge of the six-yard box.
PREMIER LEAGUE RECORD
The opener gave Salah the record for the most goal involvements in a 38-game Premier League season - 45 consisting of 27 goals and 18 assists.
West Ham came close to an equaliser when Mohammed Kudus found Alisson off his line and attempted a lob but the Brazilian keeper scrambled backward and tipped the shot onto the crossbar to give Liverpool a reprieve.
Alexis Mac Allister nearly doubled their lead from a free kick two minutes after the restart but saw Alphonse Areola get a hand to it as the ball rattled the crossbar.
Liverpool also had a penalty shout when a cross into the box hit James Ward-Prowse's hand but it was not given. At the other end, Alisson rushed off his line to deny Jarrod Bowen who was played through on goal by Lucas Paqueta.
As West Ham grew into the game, the Anfield crowd became restless while Salah also looked visibly disappointed when he was taken off as his mini goal drought extended to five games in all competitions.
A minute later, Liverpool gifted West Ham the equaliser when a breakdown in communication saw Andy Robertson score an own goal when he tried to deal with Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross.
Robertson was livid with Van Dijk for not dealing with the cross as he screamed in frustration, but the captain made amends at the other end when he restored their lead three minutes later.
As Mac Allister floated the ball in from a corner kick, Van Dijk's towering header beat the keeper to spark wild celebrations at Anfield.
"I heard Robertson shout, but these things unfortunately happen," Van Dijk said. "There was time to make it right and luckily we did."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru;Editing by Christian Radnedge and Andrew Cawthorne)
