Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz help Arne Slot to maiden Anfield victory with Liverpool
Arne Slot became the first Liverpool manager since Graeme Souness in 1991 to win his first league match, and his competitive introduction to Anfield couldn’t have started much better for him.
With just 13 minutes on the clock, Brentford were punished for pushing too many bodies upfield, leaving themselves exposed as Diogo Jota charged towards goal and slipped in Luis Diaz, who fired past Mark Flekken.
Although the Reds didn’t add to their lead in the first half, plenty of sharp interplay was on display from the home side, with the visitors failing to call Alisson into action until two minutes before the break when he made a routine save.
The hosts picked up where they left off after the restart, almost adding a second goal when Andrew Robertson nodded Jota’s off-target bicycle kick goalwards, forcing Flekken to parry away.
A Nathan Collins chance at the other end required a reflex save from Alisson, but it was one-way traffic soon after as Liverpool ramped up the pressure.
The Brentford centre-back stopped what looked to be a certain goal when he blocked Jota’s close-range effort before Mohamed Salah nearly capped off a sensational passing move.
After keeping the deficit to just one for almost an hour, the Bees’s resistance finally broke for a second time, with Salah staying onside to delicately place a shot beyond the onrushing Flekken.
Substitute Cody Gakpo saw his effort deflected onto the crossbar in the final minutes, but it ultimately made little difference to the outcome as Slot’s side ran down the clock.
Another strong start to the season means Liverpool have lost just one of their last 24 league fixtures played in August (W17, D6).
As for Brentford, Thomas Frank’s side were unable to build on a solid 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace last weekend, failing to start a season with two successive league victories for the first time since their third-tier campaign in 2006/07.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
