Liverpool 3-0 Brentford. 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 are 10th.
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 and 10th of the season in the Premier League 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.
After a horrible September in which they failed to win a game, Brentford arrived at Anfield in excellent form as they looked to claim a fourth successive top-flight victory.
It was always going to be a tough task given Liverpool’s home form but Thomas Frank’s side set up well initially and created a couple of opportunities on the counter that they arguably should have done better with.
Liverpool’s opener forced them to come out of their defensive shape more and the Reds took full advantage, but Brentford will not be too disheartened by this loss as they remain well placed in the league heading into the international break.
source – BBC
