West Ham 2 Liverpool 3: Brendan Rodgers's men prove there’s hope without Luis Suarez

James Collins’s own goal proved the difference in the end, the defender sliding in front of forward Jonjo Shelvey but only succeeding in diverting the ball into his own net.

Former Hammer Glen Johnson put the visitors ahead with 10 minutes of the match gone. The full-back collected a pass from Steven Gerrard on the right wing, cutting in before firing a stunning drive past West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Liverpool were without the suspended leading goalscorer Luis Suarez, so Shelvey was deployed in attack as Rodgers’s men look to build on recent victories, over Udinese in the Europa League and last week against Southampton.

Liverpool struggled in Suarez’s absence and offered little in the way in the attacking threat after they had taken the lead.

West Ham were back in the match when they were awarded a penalty kick by referee Lee Probert on 35 minutes after Liverpool’s Joe Allen was adjudged to have blocked a shot with his hand in the penalty area. Replays suggested the decision was harsh. Mark Noble tucked away the spot-kick past goalkeeper Pepe Reina.

On 43 minutes West Ham extended their lead when Gerrard put a header into his own goal in an attempt to clear a cross from winger Matt Jarvis.

However substitute Joe Cole capped off a clever move on 75 minutes with a powerful left-footed shot against his former club to put Liverpool back in the match. West Ham manager Sam Allardyce watched on from the sidelines, clearly concerned by his side’s second-half display.

Four minutes later the visitors took the win when Shelvey stretched to meet Jordan Henderson’s low cross, but Collins intervened.