Liverpool ensured that it returned to winning ways before the international break with a 3-0 victory over Brentford.
Both teams threatened in the early stages until Darwin Nez was denied twice in a matter of minutes. The Uruguay international was just marginally offside as he turned home Dominik Szoboszlai’s miscued shot, but his overhead kick was ruled out moments later after a great Mark Flekken stop from Virgil van Dijk’s header.
Liverpool, on the other hand, would not be denied before halftime, and it was the ever-dependable presence of Mohamed Salah that eventually saw them grab the lead. The Egyptian pounced onto Nez’s excellent ball before slotting the ball past Flekken for his 11th goal of the season.
Salah had a fantastic opportunity to extend the hosts’ lead before halftime, but his volley went over the crossbar. After the break, the 31-year-old made no mistake, heading home as Brentford’s players pleaded with the linesman despite Kostas Tsimikas’ ability to keep the ball in play.
Diogo Jota sealed the victory with just over 15 minutes remaining, finishing wonderfully from the edge of the box and drilling it beyond Flekken’s grasp. Here are five things Liverpool.com saw as the game progressed.
A remarkable increase
As injuries ravaged the team, Liverpool named a fairly young bench. Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch were already expected to miss the game after missing Thursday’s Europa League defeat, but Joe Gomez and Ibrahima Konaté have joined them.
It did, however, provide an opportunity for some of the club’s younger players, notably Trey Nyoni. After joining from Leicester City in the summer, the 16-year-old has made quite an impression this season.
After making his England U17s debut just a few months ago, the teenager now has a first call-up to the Reds’ Premier League team. He’s definitely someone to keep an eye on in the future.
It was just his luck
Darwin Nez had certainly remembered to bring his shooting boots to Anfield after his awful miss last weekend at Luton. Unfortunately, they may have been too huge.
In the first half, the Uruguayan was denied twice by the offside flag in a matter of minutes. The first saw his effort from Dominik Szoboszlai’s miscued shot ruled out by only half a boot, leaving several supporters on social media unconvinced.
There was no debate about his second goal, with Nez definitely offside, but his overhead finish was spectacular. The striker’s luck this week was arguably summed up by his two efforts.
Tierney abandons Matip in a rage
Paul Tierney has made few friends at Anfield over the years. The official was in charge of a Liverpool game for the first time since clashing with Jürgen Klopp during the 4-3 win over Tottenham last year, but he definitely did not endear himself to Liverpool fans on this occasion.
The home crowd erupted as Tierney pulled the Reds to a standstill as they attempted to take a quick free-kick following Christian Nrgaard’s foul. If Liverpool had been allowed to continue, it would have been in a perfect position to counter, but the referee stopped it dead in its tracks to show the Brentford captain a yellow card.
Tierney didn’t help matters when he said Jol Matip deserved a booking for having the audacity to have Nrgaard lunge into him. The Liverpool defender was enraged by the decision, and the Anfield crowd made their feelings known by serenading the official with a less-than-flattering song asking him where to go.
Even with his face protected against the cold, Klopp’s response on the sideline said it all. We don’t think the Liverpool manager and Tierney will become pals overnight.
A developing collaboration
When given the chance, you can always count on Mohamed Salah. And it came as no surprise who provided him with the opening.
Nez once again helped his teammate forward with a superb backheel before the Egyptian finished calmly. The goal means that all nine of Nez’s assists for Liverpool have gone to Salah, according to Andrew Beasley.
Since the Uruguayan joined last summer, the pair have clearly developed an exceptional partnership. Hopefully, it will continue to pay off for the rest of the season.
Scare is over
With so many injuries, the last thing Liverpool needed was another player getting suspended. When VAR declared that it was investigating a possible red card for Wataru End following his challenge on Nrgaard, there would have been a lot of concerned folks inside Anfield.
The challenge was clearly untimely, but it was also not deserving of a red card. Fortunately, common sense triumphed, even if Thomas Frank’s finger was on the verge of falling off from the amount of wagging he was doing in response.
End’s overall performance was substantially improved from Thursday’s performance against Toulouse. Nonetheless, he does not appear to be totally up to speed with the Premier League’s pace.
