Super Salah comes back with a bang as Klopp’s boys stay top
THIS was one of those brutal demonstrations of the monumental gulf between the Premier League’s haves and havenots. In many ways it emphasises how brilliantly Brentford have done to have even made it this far. But on days like this, the chasm is laid mercilessly bare.
Liverpool’s fearsome front five cost close to £250million to assemble. In reality, it’s worth in excess of that figure. Brentford simply couldn’t cope. They aren’t the first to succumb to the talents of Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo. They won’t be the last.
The frightening quintet all made direct contributions to this emphatic win as Jurgen Klopp’s side maintained their place at the top of the table.
Brentford can only dream of calling on those sort of attacking options. Their manager Thomas Frank already has his team punching well above their weight. But sometimes all you can do is hold your hands up and accept your medicine. This was one of those days. Liverpool were ruthless, albeit aided by some suspect defending. Their interplay in forward areas can be mesmerising but it’s their adaptability that remains one of their most potent weapons.
Three of their four goals here stemmed from aerial balls forward. There’s no perfect way to win a football match — Liverpool proved that here. Yet you wonder at what cost. Liverpool were already without Trent Alexander-Arnold, Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alisson.
With the Carabao Cup final on the horizon, the sight of Curtis Jones and Jota leaving the field early due to a knee injury, the latter on a stretcher, will be of major concern to Klopp. Nunez’s withdrawal at half-time compounded concerns.
For now Klopp will be grateful for his team’s latest victory. It’s two wins from two since their 15-game unbeaten Premier League run came to an abrupt end at Arsenal.
Who’d bet against them building a similar sequence? If they can, they’ll run Manchester City and Arsenal mightily close.
Credit to Brentford, they stood toe-to-toe with the league leaders for a while. But to further illustrate the disparity between the two teams: Liverpool introduced £34million Ryan Gravenberch when Jones limped off. Salah came off the bench for Jota.
Brentford kept swinging but the numbers are starting to paint a worrying picture for Frank.
Three wins in 15 matches has seen his side slide alarmingly down the table. The fear of being dragged into a relegation fight shouldn’t weigh too heavy. But with games approaching against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, those concerns could easily manifest.
Their start here was sharp and vibrant but they had no answer once Liverpool found their flow. The brilliant breakthrough came in the 35th minute.
Nunez powered towards goal before delicately stroking a sumptuous chip over Mark Flekken for his 13th of the season. The Uruguayan wheeled away to receive the adulation from his team-mates.
Jota’s contribution is worthy of mention, too. There looked little danger when Virgil van Dijk launched a clearance high into the west London skyline.
Brentford, namely Sergio Reguilon, didn’t bank on Jota’s excellent intervention as the Portuguese nodded a delicious header into Nunez’s path.
You’ll be hard pressed to see a more eye-catching assist this weekend. What a player he is.
They’ll hope for positive news on Jota, but it’s clear they can cope without him. Liverpool have options — Salah’s return from a hamstring injury is a timely boost, while Nunez was taken off at half-time only to be replaced by Gakpo.
On his return to action, Salah took a while to shake off the rust.
He squandered a good chance on the stroke of half-time following good work from Diaz before wasting a better one after the restart.
It didn’t take long for the Egyptian to find his feet. Alexis Mac Allister excellently fired beyond Flekken in the 52nd minute following Salah’s incisive pass into the Argentine’s feet before notching one himself after capitalising on miscommunication between Ben Mee and Kristoffer Ajer.
The game was over as contest by the time Ivan Toney scored a consolation in the 75th minute.
It is four goals in five matches for Toney since his return from a betting ban — surely an instant recall to the England squad for the March internationals beckons.
But it was Liverpool who had the last laugh, as Diaz and Gakpo combined to take full advantage of more poor defending and the latter completed the scoring.