Pre-Match Social Media Commentary
Rejuvenation was once again on the cards this afternoon at Anfield as Liverpool ran out relatively comfortable winners during a 1-0 win against credible top-half outfit Brentford on a day where club star Mohamed Salah was once again the main focus of the club’s storyboard.
Jürgen Klopp’s side continued their late charge targeting European football next season and can now be pleased with climbing into fifth in the table and on the heels of rivals Manchester United after recovering from a severe dip in performance in phases of the 2022-23 season that had some wondering whether or not the German was capable of leading his troops to the best of his ability moving forward.
An unexpected tweak to the XI by Klopp saw the German call upon Dutch forward Cody Gakpo to slot into the midfield three, allowing for the continued utilization of Diogo Jota and Darwin Núñez as part of a front three along with star man Mohamed Salah, which gave the Reds incredible attacking potential on the day.
That potential rose to the surface in the 13th minute when Fabinho’s ball to the back post during the run of play was found by Virgil van Dijk to head across the face of the goal to Salah for the Egyptian slot home past David Raya from inside one yard. It marked another 30-goal season across all competitions for one of Africa’s best-ever talents, giving him 100 goals at Anfield while extending his current scoring run on Merseyside to nine matches; the only player in club history to do so.
Salah also moved level with club legend Steven Gerrard on 186 strikes across all competitions for the club and enough time left in the season to pull ahead of the iconic Reds midfielder.
Liverpool was dominant in the opening twenty minutes and looked in the mood to add a second before Thomas Frank’s Bees could truly settle into proceedings on the red side of Stanley Park. Núñez nearly made it two to the good when Trent Alexander-Arnold played a lovely ball over the top of Brentford’s back line for the Uruguayan to get on the end of, but he could only scuff his effort over David Raya’s bar.
The Bees had a big chance fall at their feet in the 39th minute after Nigerian international Frank Onyenka was brought down 23-yards from goal by Fabinho which ultimately resulted in key man Ivan Toney stepping up to hit a well-struck low drive at Alisson’s goal, but it could only sail just wide of the far post.
Alarm bells sounded off once again just two minutes later when Cameroonian forward Bryan Mbeumo thought he had pulled the London side level at one-a-piece after bursting through on goal past Van Dijk and a back-tracking Alexander-Arnold, but he was judged to be just offside at the origin of the attacking move after Zanka’s ball into space.
The second half was slightly more tepid than the opening forty-five minutes, but Brentford remained very much in with a chance to nick something off Liverpool with their ability to break so quickly when winning possession.
Liverpool had regained the balance of play as the second stanza progressed, however, with Alexander-Arnold nearly capping off a direct flowing move in the wake of an Alisson goal kick that saw them break into the final third. The England man had a real chance to test Raya from 25 yards but the Spaniard did well to turn away the goal-bound strike.
Few chances would present themselves in the aftermath of the right-backs well-struck chance, and in the end, Liverpool would claim all three points on the day to earn their sixth consecutive win in the table across a late run in the league that could see them obtain an unlikely top-four finish should United stumble on their own path.
The loss did little to change Brentford’s overall position one way or another, and while the Bees are likely to miss out on a top-six finish, they can certainly take note of another season of progression under their beloved Danish headmaster who has quickly turned his outfit into one of the toughest around in the top flight of English football.
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