West Ham 2 Liverpool 3

Boosted by the return of Valon Behrami, Herita Ilunga and with Alessandro Diamanti making his full debut, Gianfranco Zola's men were confident of ending their recent dismal run of results against Liverpool.

But the afternoon proved to be a disappointment, not just because of the defeat, but also because of injuries picked up by Matthew Upson and Behrami which look likely to rule them out of tomorrow night's Carling Cup clash at Bolton.

The Irons really only had themselves to blame for coming away with nothing on Saturday, with all three Liverpool goals attributable in part to poor defending.

And it could have all been so different had the otherwise impressive Zavon HInes not spurned a glorious chance just two minutes into the game.

The young striker, who was a lively presence all afternoon, forced Jamie Carragher into an error and bore down on Pepe Reina's goal. His beat the goalkeeper but cannoned back off the post to the grateful custodian.

West Ham paid for Hines' profligacy when the Reds took the lead on 20 minutes thanks to a superb piece of skill from Torres.

The striker collected the ball outside the box and appeared to be well covered by James Tomkins, but the young defender was bamboozled by some tricky footwork, allowing Torres into the six yard box from where he stabbed the ball past Rob Green from a tight angle.

To make matters worse, Upson picked up a muscle injury as he tried to close down the Liverpool striker and was forced to leave the field.

And five minutes later Behrami's comeback was over as he too left the field, visibly upset.

But West Ham refused to submit meekly and found themselves on level terms just before the half hour mark.

Hines latched onto a superb pass from Carlton Cole down the left flank and cut into the box, only to be shoved in the back by Carragher.

It was a clear penalty, despite Liverpool's protests, and Diamanti stepped up to earn himself instant cult status with the Boleyn faithful.

The flamboyant Italian slipped as he took the spot kick and his effort looped gently into the centre of the goal, although fortunately for the Irons Reina had already dived to his right.

Liverpool's furious players surrounded the referee claiming Diamanti had touched the ball twice, although television replays were inconclusive, and the goal stood.

West Ham were really up for it now and pressed forward. Liverpool relied on their speed and skill to counter-attack and the game began to swing from end-to-end.

But it was a moment of slack marking from a corner that allowed the visitors to regain the lead on 41 minutes.

Steven Gerrard powered a header goalward and an unmarked Dirk Kuyt got the faintest of touches to help it into the corner of the net.

In the modern fashion West Ham eschewed having a defender on the post, who would surely have cleared the ball, and were made to pay the price.

Ironically, Liverpool made the same mistake from a West Ham corner on the stroke of half-time.

Mark Noble's corner kick saw Carlton Cole outjump his markers to guide the ball into the net, just inside Reina's left-hand post, to put the Hammers on terms.

It was no more than they deserved, having played well throughout an exhilarating first 45 minutes.

After such entertainment there was always the danger the second half would prove to be an anti-climax.

Both sides tightened up defensively, so although there was plenty of skill on show, notably from Cole and former Iron Yossi Benayoun, the flow of goals dried up.

The tempo of the game was still high and both sides were looking for the decisive goal.

It arrived, in Liverpool's favour, on 78 minutes.

Glen Johnson, another ex-Hammer back on familiar turf, collected a weak clearance to drive into the heart of the West Ham defence. He slipped the ball out to Babel who swung it across for Torres to power a header past Green.

The Spaniard should really have been prevented from getting a clear header in, with both Julien Faubert and Tomkins failing to adequately challenge him.

Liverpool would cling on to their slender lead, although Radoslav Kovac almost equalised a minute after Torres' second goal when Reina palmed his header away before the keeper blocked Hines' follow-up.

Zola was clearly disappointed with the result, although he refused to lay the blame at the feet of his defence.

He said: "I will have a look at the video before I can say anything. Torres is a great striker, so you have to consider the fact that it is not easy to mark him.

"But if something hasn't been done properly then I will be making enquiries. It is a pity. It is not easy to defend against strikers like him, especially when they are having a good day like today."

And despite the Hammers having their worst start to a season in seven years, Zola was characteristically optimistic things would improve.

He said: "I see what the players do on the pitch, and today was very encouraging. I think we were unfortunate today not to pick up points, but the rest is encouraging. I'm sure we will get better and it won't be long."

West Ham: Green, Faubert, Ilunga, Upson (Gabbidon, 25), Tomkins, Noble, Parker, Behrami (Kovac, 28), Diamanti (Dyer, 70), Cole, Hines. Unused subs: Kurucz, Spector, Nouble, Payne.

Booked: Parker, Cole, Faubert.

Goals: Diamanti 29 (pen), Cole 45

Liverpool: Reina, Johnson, Insua, Carragher, Skrtel, Gerrard, Benayoun (Aurelio, 80), Mascherano, Lucas, Torres (Riera, 90), Kuyt (Babel, 60). Unused subs: Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Degen, Dossena.

Booked: Mascherano, Carragher.

Goals: Torres 20, 75, Kuyt 41.

Attendance: 34.658

Referee: Andre Marriner.