Liverpool cruised into the Carabao Cup semi-finals with a dominant performance against West Ham at Anfield.
Once Dominik Szoboszlai had driven a superb 25-yard effort into the bottom corner after 28 minutes, Liverpool's place in the last four was never in doubt.
Curtis Jones added a second 11 minutes after the restart when he deceived Alphonse Areola into thinking he was going to cut a cross back from the edge of the six-yard box, and instead drove a shot through the Hammers' keeper's legs.
Cody Gakpo was given too much space to fire home his eighth goal of the season 19 minutes from time, then Mohamed Salah made it four when he raced clear of the visitors defence and finished, before Jones finished off an excellent run by adding his second.
There could have been more as the excellent Harvey Elliott, Gakpo and substitute Trent Alexander-Arnold all went close and Salah put the rebound wide of an empty net after Areola had touched a Darwin Nunez shot on to a post.
It was the first time Liverpool had scored five at home against the Hammers since 1998 and keeps them on course for a record-extending 10th triumph in the competition they last won as recently as 2022.
They will face Fulham in the semi-finals, with the first leg in the week beginning 8 January and the second leg two weeks later.
For Hammers boss David Moyes, it was a disappointing night. The former Everton boss is still waiting for his first victory in this stadium after 21 visits and Jarrod Bowen's 77th-minute goal with West Ham's first shot on target was scant consolation.
Elliott outstanding in Reds romp
The match-winning hero at Crystal Palace on 9 December, Elliott has made all but one of his Premier League appearances this season off the bench.
In the cups, though, the 20-year-old has started every game, and provided more evidence of his talent as he excelled in both wide and central areas.
Elliott gave a sign of what was to come for West Ham as he cut in from the right wing and sent a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the area.
The England Under-21 international was just as likely to turn up on the left and at points in the second half, he played the midfield anchor as well.
Elliott drew applause from manager Jurgen Klopp for a deep cross to Gakpo, from which the Dutchman bounced a header millimetres wide of the Hammers goal.
Evidently, Elliott also has a bit of the cheeky chappie about him and after Areola had produced a decent save to turn away a close-range effort from an acute angle, the former Fulham youngster took a short break by sitting on the nearby LED board.
On a night when Liverpool matched their biggest win of the season, Elliott made a telling contribution without getting his own name on the scoresheet.
Woeful West Ham never a threat
West Ham's sizeable travelling support would have felt better about their trip back to London had they been given any hope to grasp at in terms of a result.
With only one win on this ground in 60 years, the Hammers have a minimal record of success at Anfield - and their overall performance here was poor.
A side showing six changes from the excellent win against Wolves couldn't string a succession of passes together to generate a meaningful goal threat.
The only time it seemed as though they would shoot in that first half was when Bowen waited for the ball to drop as it deflected into the area. The hesitation was costly as Kostas Tsimikas nipped in to snuff out the threat.
Mohammed Kudus went close with their first shot at goal just before Liverpool scored their third of the night. But by the time Bowen scored his 12th goal of an excellent personal campaign, the game was gone.
Follow live text and radio commentary herePlayer of the match
JonesCurtis Jones
with an average of 8.46
Liverpool
Squad number17Player nameJones
Squad number19Player nameElliott
Squad number8Player nameSzoboszlai
Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold
Squad number4Player namevan Dijk
Squad number18Player nameGakpo
Squad number9Player nameNúñez
Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah
Squad number78Player nameQuansah
Squad number3Player nameEndo
Squad number2Player nameGomez
Squad number21Player nameTsimikas
Squad number5Player nameKonaté
Squad number84Player nameBradley
Squad number62Player nameKelleher
Squad number7Player nameDíaz
West Ham United
Squad number20Player nameBowen
Squad number7Player nameWard-Prowse
Squad number10Player nameLucas Paquetá
Squad number14Player nameKudus
Squad number19Player nameÁlvarez
Squad number2Player nameJohnson
Squad number5Player nameCoufal
Squad number23Player nameAreola
Squad number15Player nameMavropanos
Squad number28Player nameSoucek
Squad number24Player nameKehrer
Squad number8Player nameFornals
Squad number21Player nameOgbonna
Squad number18Player nameIngs
Squad number22Player nameBenrahma
Line-ups
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
62Kelleher2Gomez78Quansah4van DijkSubstituted forKonatéat 60'minutes21TsimikasSubstituted forBradleyat 69'minutes8SzoboszlaiSubstituted forSalahat 60'minutes3EndoSubstituted forAlexander-Arnoldat 60'minutes17Jones19Elliott18GakpoSubstituted forDíazat 78'minutes9NúñezBooked at 90minsSubstitutes
5Konaté7Díaz11Salah13Adrián42Clark49Gordon53McConnell66Alexander-Arnold84BradleyWest Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
23Areola5CoufalSubstituted forKehrerat 72'minutes15Mavropanos21Ogbonna2Johnson28Soucek19ÁlvarezBooked at 52minsSubstituted forIngsat 81'minutes14KudusSubstituted forWard-Prowseat 72'minutes8Fornals22BenrahmaSubstituted forLucas Paquetáat 57'minutes20BowenSubstitutes
1Fabianski3Cresswell4Zouma7Ward-Prowse10Lucas Paquetá18Ings24Kehrer33Emerson45MubamaReferee:Tim Robinson
Attendance:57,332
Live Text
Match ends, Liverpool 5, West Ham United 1.
Second Half ends, Liverpool 5, West Ham United 1.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Tomás Soucek.
Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Ben Johnson.
Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Joe Gomez.
Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Darwin Núñez (Liverpool).
Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Offside, Liverpool. Darwin Núñez is caught offside.
Foul by Jarell Quansah (Liverpool).
Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left.
Goal! Liverpool 5, West Ham United 1. Curtis Jones (Liverpool) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Foul by Jarell Quansah (Liverpool).
Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Goal! Liverpool 4, West Ham United 1. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Trent Alexander-Arnold with a through ball following a fast break.
Substitution, West Ham United. Danny Ings replaces Edson Álvarez.
Attempt missed. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) left footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt saved. Darwin Núñez (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Curtis Jones.
Offside, West Ham United. Thilo Kehrer is caught offside.