Mohamed Salah just loves Anfield! The prolific winger became the first player to ever score in Liverpool’s first six home games of a season in Sunday’s facile 3-0 win over Brentford as the hosts climbed to second in the Premier League standings – for the time being at least.
Salah, who has now been involved in 119 goals in his last 117 outings at Anfield, opened the scoring after taking a Darwin Nunez pass in his stride towards the tail end of the first half and then doubled the Reds’ advantage with a fine header from Kostas Tsimikas’ cut-back. Diogo Jota completed the scoring with a thumping finish from the edge of the area 16 minutes from time.
Below, we rates all of the Liverpool players on show as Jurgen Klopp’s men bounced back from a lucky 1-1 draw at Luton last week, and Thursday’s unbelievable Europa League loss in Toulouse…
Liverpool player ratings (4-3-3)
Alisson Becker (7/10):
Made a couple of decent stops when called upon.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7/10):
Very nearly gifted Brentford a goal with a shocking pass in the first half but was very impressive going forward, playing his part in the opener, while a stunning pass deserved a better finish from Salah.
Joel Matip (6/10):
Harshly booked but perhaps a tad lucky to avoid a second yellow early in the second half. A decent display but still looks like an accident waiting to happen.
Virgil van Dijk (7/10):
A characteristically assured performance. Really does look to be back to something approaching his best. Indeed, he saved a certain goal with one fantastic clearance.
Kostas Tsimikas (8/10):
Retained his starting spot despite giving away a goal in midweek and turned in his most impressive performance in a red shirt for some time, contributing two assists.
Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):
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One of his quieter performances since arriving during the summer.
Wataru Endo (6/10):
Got a rare chance to start in the Premier League because of Alexis Mac Allister’s suspension and was good on the ball for the most part. However, a poor first touch resulted in a desperate lunge that very nearly earned him a red card.
Cody Gakpo (6/10):
Once again started in midfield because of Liverpool’s injury issues but while he worked hard, and had a couple of efforts from distance, he was once again largely ineffective in a deeper role. Subbed late on.
Mohamed Salah (9/10):
Lethal as always! Was no chance of him missing after being slipped in by Nunez and took his header wonderfully well. Just a class act.
Darwin Nunez (7/10):
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Deserved to get on the scoresheet after having two goals chalked off for offside. Still, he got yet another assist for Salah with a nice lay-off.
Diogo Jota (8/10):
A constant threat and got his just reward for an energetic display with a fine strike from distance that flew into the back of the net.
Substitutes
Harvey Elliott (N/A):
Only came on late for Jota.
Luis Diaz (N/A):
Received a rapturous welcome when introduced in place of Jota but not enough time to make an impact.
Jarell Quansah (N/A):
Brought on in the dying seconds.
James McConnel (N/A):
Made his debut in injury time.