Liverpool moves into second

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND » Liverpool found the goalscoring alternatives needed in the absence of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as their stand-ins stepped up in a 3-0 Premier League win over Brentford on Sunday.

Midfielder Fabinho proved an unlikely solution with his third goal in eight days with the opener just before halftime. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and substitute Takumi Minamino netted in the second half.

A 0-0 draw against 10man Arsenal in the League Cup on Thursday had raised questions about how Jürgen Klopp’s side would cope while Salah and Mane remain at the African Cup of Nations, but this result offered more hope for the coming weeks.

With a first clean sheet in five league matches and a first league win since mid-December, Liverpool moved above Chelsea in second place but 11 points behind Manchester City with a game in hand.

Benitez fired by Everton

Rafa Benitez was fired by Everton after 200 days in charge on Sunday with a brutal 40-word statement that offered no thanks to the manager whose appointment was always contentious with fans.

The Spaniard never overcame his successful association with Liverpool, whose stadium is only a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Goodison Park across Stanley Park, and his position became increasingly untenable as Everton sunk closer to the relegation zone.

Everton has only one win in 13 league matches under Benitez, scoring 12 goals and conceding 27 in that time, although key striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has only just returned from four months out injured to play two matches.

Benitez’s name was chanted at Anfield within minutes after the announcement by Liverpool fans during their match against Brentford on Sunday afternoon.

They not only fondly remember his 2004-10 reign, which included leading Liverpool to the Champions League title in 2005, but also his part in the decline of such a fierce, local rival.