Brentford 4-1 Liverpool: Player ratings

Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League – temporarily at least – with a comfortable 4-1 win away at Brentford on Saturday afternoon.

The Reds finally broke their hoodoo at the Gtech Community Stadium with what turned out to be an easy win, albeit one tainted by injuries to both Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota in the first half.

Despite the disruption, Jurgen Klopp’s side nonetheless went in at the break a goal up thanks to an excellent Darwin Nunez chip ten minutes before half time.

After the restart, substitute Mohamed Salah, making his first Liverpool appearance since New Year’s Day, laid on the second for Alexis Mac Allister, before getting on the scoresheet himself just 13 minutes later with a well-taken finish.

The Bees got a goal back through Ivan Toney in the 75th minute, but Cody Gakpo sealed the emphatic win with the Reds’ fourth goal just five minutes from time.

Here are our player ratings…

Caoimhin Kelleher (GK): 8

Deputising for the injured Alisson, the Irishman looked very assured. You have to feel sorry for him with regard to the goal: he made an incredible save to deny Sergio Reguilon, but could do nothing to stop Toney slotting in the rebound. Kelleher then made another excellent reflex save in stoppage time to deny a close-range Toney header.

Conor Bradley (RB): 7

Replacing the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, the young right-back, making his return to action following the death of his father, made a strong start and almost gave the Reds the lead in the ninth minute with a neat outside-of-the-foot prod towards the bottom corner, saved by Mark Flekken. Grew into the game in the second half with the change of shape, which saw him coming into midfield more often. Another solid performance.

Ibrahima Konate (CB): 7

Did well to catch up with then put off Ivan Toney when he was sent clean through with a long ball upfield in the first half, but often left a large gap between himself and Van Dijk. This issue was fixed in the second half.

Virgil van Dijk (CB): 8

Didn’t put a foot wrong defensively and almost made it five in stoppage time when his header came back out off the crossbar. Seems to have put his horror show at the Emirates behind him.

Andrew Robertson (LB): 7

Offered excellent width and delivery going forward in the first half, but was often too wide defensively, leaving space in behind. Was lucky not to give away a penalty in the second half for a push on Toney.

Wataru Endo (DM): 8

His influence on the side continues to grow. Endo has slotted straight back into the side seamlessly and did an excellent job in turning defence into attack and breaking up play (even if it is with tactical fouls). Walked the red card tightrope perfectly despite some nervy moments.

Alexis Mac Allister (CM): 8

Had a mad 90 seconds early in the first half where he gave away two fouls in quick succession (the second on the edge of the box). However, he stepped up once Jones went off and settled the nerves early in the second half with a well-taken goal. It’s nice to see him influencing play higher up the field.

Curtis Jones (CM): 6

Was calm and tidy on the ball but didn’t have enough time to make any impact on the game. Went off with what looked like a bad ankle injury in just the 33rd minute.

Diogo Jota (RW): 6

Had a nice half-volley tipped over the bar by Flekken in the 20th minute and was a general nuisance until he, too, was withdrawn just before half time with what looks like a potentially bad knee injury.

Darwin Nunez (ST): 7

Beautifully taken chip to give Liverpool the lead when clean through on goal (and many might have expected him to fluff his lines). However, this was to be his only real contribution before going off at half time. Is he injured too?

Luis Diaz (LW): 7

Popped up everywhere in the first half as the front line rotated, without making too much headway. However, with Salah on the field, his influence grew when he stuck to the left. The Colombian might have had a penalty in the last 10 minutes but the VAR stuck with the onfield decision. Not perturbed, he then laid on an assist for Gakpo (even if the defender probably should have cut out his rather under-hit pass).

Substitutes

Ryan Gravenberch (Jones, 34’): 7

Quietly went about his business with a Gini Wijnaldum-esque showing following his surprise first-half introduction. Looks nailed on now to start the Carabao Cup final.

Mohamed Salah (Jota, 44’): 8

Missed a glorious chance just after the break when both his touch and finishing badly let him down when he was through on goal. However, he made amends almost immediately when he laid on an excellent, incisive pass for Mac Allister to score the second. He almost repeated the trick for Luis Diaz, before he got on the scoresheet himself by showing great pace and strength to hold off Nathan Collins before firing into the side netting. A mostly quiet game, but still picked up a goal and an assist on his return to action. How does he keep doing it?

Cody Gakpo (Nunez, 46’): 8

One of his best games in recent months. He led the line excellently in the second half, holding up the ball, and laid on an assist for Salah with a well-timed flicked header. He then put the cherry on the cake with a tidy finish to make it 4-1 late on after being put through by Diaz.

Harvey Elliott (Mac Allister, 82’): N/A

Drew a good save from Flekken with a low free kick from the edge of the box. Otherwise, too little time to make an impact.

Joe Gomez (Bradley, 82’): N/A

Filled in at right-back for the closing minutes as the Reds saw out the game.

Darwin Nunez, Brentford vs Liverpool

5 talking points from Liverpool’s 4-1 win over Brentford 15 mins ago by Alex Caple