In arguably the pick of the Premier League's 3pm kick-offs this afternoon, Liverpool hosted West Ham at Anfield, producing a relatively entertaining 2-0 affair.
Raheem Sterling opened the Reds' account for the afternoon with a cool finish after 50 minutes, whilst Daniel Sturridge wrapped things up with a late goal after coming off the bench, marking his first involvement in a Premier League fixture since August - a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
In addition to the goals, there were plenty of talking points from this afternoon's action, and being the lovely bunch we are at Football Fancast, we've listed three of them.
RAHEEM STERLING CAN PLAY UP FRONT
There was plenty of confusion over Raheem Sterling's first outing as a centre-forward for Liverpool amid a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United in December, with many commenting on the midfielder-come-striker's lack of composure in front of goal.
He's silenced the doubters in recent weeks however, amid a run of four goals and one assist in nine appearances as an out-and-out front-man, and the 20-year-old added to his haul this afternoon with this impressive finish past West Ham's Adrian:
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This little bit of trickery wasn't too bad either...
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Even with Daniel Sturridge back to full fitness, he may struggle to reclaim his place in the starting line-up from his in-form compartiot.
MARK NOBLE MIGHT BE ON HIS WAY OUT FROM WEST HAM
Mark Noble might not be a West Ham great in the same vein as Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore or Trevor Brooking, but he has now been serving the East Londoners, rather incredibly, for over ten years. His debut as a 17-year-old came all the way back in 2004.
Interestingly however, The 27 year-old was dropped from West Ham's starting line-up this afternoon in favour of veteran goal poacher Kevin Nolan, following reports in The Mirror this morning that QPR are preparing a bid for his services. The combination of events whipped Twitter into a bit of a frenzy:
With three days left of the January transfer window, we suggest you keep your eyes peeled for further developments.
DANIEL STURRIDGE IS BACK!
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Liverpool fan or not, I'm sure you'll find pleasure in Daniel Sturridge's return to first team action for the Reds today. The England striker, who now boasts an impressive 33 Premier League goals in 47 appearances for the Anfield outfit, has been out of action for the last six months with a series of niggling injuries.
Not only did the 25-year-old record his first outing of 2015 for Liverpool, but also his first goal. With just ten minutes remaining and West Ham leaving themselves exposed as they pushed for an equaliser, the former Chelsea and Manchester City striker produced this impressive effort:
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Which, of course, was followed by his trademark dance celebration!
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