Liverpool's earlier game was a drab affair for the first hour but then changed completely in less than two minutes.

Peter Crouch scored with an overhead kick in the 61st minute and Steven Gerrard, awarded an MBE in Queen Elizabeth's New Year's Honours List, clipped in a neatly-taken, side-footed volley.

Dutch forward Dirk Kuyt tucked in the third seven minutes from time to leave manager Rafael Benitez smiling.

"It was a very good game, especially the second half, there were some good goals and (it is) a fantastic beginning of the year," he told Sky Sports.

Reading, who held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw last week and made Manchester United work hard for a 3-2 win two days ago, swamped West Ham from the start.

Brynjar Gunnarsson and Stephen Hunt had them two up after 15 minutes and an Anton Ferdinand own goal and a Kevin Doyle shot made it 4-0 at halftime.

Leroy Lita got the fifth eight minutes into the second half and Doyle's 10th of the season completed West Ham's third defeat in a row.

Manchester City made it three wins in a row with a 2-1 home victory over Everton and Blackburn Rovers beat Wigan Athletic 3-0, their third win since losing 6-2 at Arsenal on December 23.

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