Liverpool up to second after Brentford win

5 months ago 76
Mohamed Salah scores against BrentfordMohamed Salah has scored 10 Premier League goals this season

Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool maintained their 100% record at Anfield this season with victory against Brentford to move up to second in the Premier League.

Salah opened the scoring just before the break, latching onto a pass from Darwin Nunez before placing a finish beyond Mark Flekken.

That was Salah's ninth Premier League goal of the season and his 10th arrived midway through the second half when he nodded in from Kostas Tsimikas' cross.

Salah - once again excellent on home soil - really should have had a hat-trick, having also volleyed over from a superb Trent Alexander-Arnold cross just before half-time.

Diogo Jota then rounded off another dominant home display with a thumping strike.

Brentford's best chance had come in the first half, when Bryan Mbeumo raced through on goal but his chipped effort was tame and cleared off the line by Alexander-Arnold.

The victory means Liverpool have 27 points and move ahead of Arsenal on goal difference, while Brentford remain ninth.

Follow Sunday's Premier League actionHow did you rate Liverpool's performance? Have your say hereWhat did you make of Brentford's display? Send us your views here

Fortress Anfield remains impenetrable

Liverpool may have laboured to a 1-1 draw at Luton in their last Premier League outing but their home form has been impeccable.

The Reds have now won all six of their league games at Anfield this season with an aggregate score of 17-2 and, with Brentford having not won there since 1937, the visitors faced a daunting task.

To the Bees' credit, they set up well for the game, frustrating Liverpool early on and having chances on the break that could have resulted in the opener if Mbeumo showed more conviction in his finishing.

But Salah has been in brilliant form at home and he continued his scoring streak at Anfield with a composed finish six minutes before half-time before heading in his second after the break.

His goals mean he is now just the the fourth player to score in each of his club's opening six home games of a Premier League season, after Alan Shearer (1995-96 for Blackburn Rovers), Les Ferdinand (1995-96 for Newcastle United) and Thierry Henry (2004-05 for Arsenal).

As strong as Liverpool are at home, they have been patchy on the road, having failed to win any of their past three away league fixtures.

But with a trip to rivals Manchester City up next for Jurgen Klopp's men after the international break, this convincing win sets them up nicely as they look to underline their title credentials when they travel to Etihad Stadium.

More to follow.

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Liverpool

Squad number1Player nameAlisson

Squad number66Player nameAlexander-Arnold

Squad number32Player nameMatip

Squad number4Player namevan Dijk

Squad number21Player nameTsimikas

Squad number8Player nameSzoboszlai

Squad number3Player nameEndo

Squad number18Player nameGakpo

Squad number11Player nameMohamed Salah

Squad number9Player nameNúñez

Squad number20Player nameDiogo Jota

Squad number7Player nameDíaz

Squad number19Player nameElliott

Squad number53Player nameMcConnell

Squad number78Player nameQuansah

Brentford

Squad number1Player nameFlekken

Squad number20Player nameAjer

Squad number22Player nameCollins

Squad number5Player namePinnock

Squad number16Player nameMee

Squad number30Player nameRoerslev

Squad number8Player nameJensen

Squad number6Player nameNørgaard

Squad number27Player nameJanelt

Squad number19Player nameMbeumo

Squad number11Player nameWissa

Squad number7Player nameMaupay

Squad number14Player nameGhoddos

Squad number15Player nameOnyeka

Squad number33Player nameYarmolyuk

Line-ups

Liverpool

Formation 4-3-3

1Alisson66Alexander-ArnoldSubstituted forQuansahat 90'minutes32MatipBooked at 37mins4van Dijk21Tsimikas8SzoboszlaiSubstituted forMcConnellat 90+4'minutes3Endo18GakpoSubstituted forElliottat 83'minutes11Salah9Núñez20JotaSubstituted forDíazat 83'minutes

Substitutes

7Díaz19Elliott44Chambers48Scanlon50Doak53McConnell62Kelleher78Quansah98Nyoni

Brentford

Formation 5-3-2

1Flekken20AjerBooked at 30mins22Collins5Pinnock16Mee30RoerslevSubstituted forGhoddosat 72'minutes8JensenSubstituted forYarmolyukat 72'minutes6NørgaardBooked at 30mins27JaneltSubstituted forOnyekaat 45'minutes19Mbeumo11WissaSubstituted forMaupayat 72'minutes

Substitutes

7Maupay13M Jorgensen14Ghoddos15Onyeka21Strakosha25Peart-Harris26Baptiste33Yarmolyuk37Olakigbe

Live Text

Match ends, Liverpool 3, Brentford 0.

Second Half ends, Liverpool 3, Brentford 0.

Attempt blocked. Neal Maupay (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bryan Mbeumo.

Foul by Luis Díaz (Liverpool).

Yehor Yarmolyuk (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.

Foul by Harvey Elliott (Liverpool).

Frank Onyeka (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Substitution, Liverpool. James McConnell replaces Dominik Szoboszlai.

Substitution, Liverpool. Jarell Quansah replaces Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).

Neal Maupay (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

Attempt saved. Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.

Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Mark Flekken.

Attempt saved. Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Darwin Núñez with a headed pass.

Attempt missed. Yehor Yarmolyuk (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Saman Ghoddos.

Attempt missed. Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Ben Mee.

Foul by Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool).

Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) wins a free kick on the left wing.

Substitution, Liverpool. Luis Díaz replaces Diogo Jota.

Substitution, Liverpool. Harvey Elliott replaces Cody Gakpo.

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