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.
Fortress Anfield remains impenetrable
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.
Big ask for Brentford
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.
Player of the match
Mohamed SalahMohamed Salah
Brentford
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Squad number19Player nameMbeumo
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Squad number8Player nameJensen
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Squad number6Player nameNørgaard
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Squad number1Player nameFlekken
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Squad number11Player nameWissa
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Squad number22Player nameCollins
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Squad number16Player nameMee
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Squad number5Player namePinnock
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Squad number20Player nameAjer
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Squad number27Player nameJanelt
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Squad number30Player nameRoerslev
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Squad number7Player nameMaupay
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Squad number14Player nameGhoddos
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Squad number15Player nameOnyeka
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Squad number33Player nameYarmolyuk
Line-ups
Liverpool
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Alisson
- 66Alexander-ArnoldSubstituted forQuansahat 90′minutes
- 32MatipBooked at 37mins
- 4van Dijk
- 21Tsimikas
- 8SzoboszlaiSubstituted forMcConnellat 90+4′minutes
- 3Endo
- 18GakpoSubstituted forElliottat 83′minutes
- 11Salah
- 9Núñez
- 20JotaSubstituted forDÃazat 84′minutes
Substitutes
- 7DÃaz
- 19Elliott
- 44Chambers
- 48Scanlon
- 50Doak
- 53McConnell
- 62Kelleher
- 78Quansah
- 98Nyoni
Brentford
Formation 5-3-2
- 1Flekken
- 20AjerBooked at 30mins
- 22Collins
- 5Pinnock
- 16Mee
- 30RoerslevSubstituted forGhoddosat 72′minutes
- 8JensenSubstituted forYarmolyukat 72′minutes
- 6NørgaardBooked at 30mins
- 27JaneltSubstituted forOnyekaat 45′minutes
- 19Mbeumo
- 11WissaSubstituted forMaupayat 72′minutes
Substitutes
- 7Maupay
- 13M Jorgensen
- 14Ghoddos
- 15Onyeka
- 21Strakosha
- 25Peart-Harris
- 26Baptiste
- 33Yarmolyuk
- 37Olakigbe
- Referee:
- Paul Tierney
- Attendance:
- 50,151
Live Text
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Match ends, Liverpool 3, Brentford 0.
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Second Half ends, Liverpool 3, Brentford 0.
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Attempt blocked. Neal Maupay (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bryan Mbeumo.
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Foul by Luis DÃaz (Liverpool).
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Yehor Yarmolyuk (Brentford) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Foul by Harvey Elliott (Liverpool).
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Frank Onyeka (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Substitution, Liverpool. James McConnell replaces Dominik Szoboszlai.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Jarell Quansah replaces Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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Foul by Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool).
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Neal Maupay (Brentford) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt saved. Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
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Corner, Liverpool. Conceded by Mark Flekken.
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Attempt saved. Harvey Elliott (Liverpool) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Darwin Núñez with a headed pass.
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Attempt missed. Yehor Yarmolyuk (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Saman Ghoddos.
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Attempt missed. Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) right footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Ben Mee.
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Foul by Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool).
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Saman Ghoddos (Brentford) wins a free kick on the left wing.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Luis DÃaz replaces Diogo Jota.
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Substitution, Liverpool. Harvey Elliott replaces Cody Gakpo.