Liverpool prove way too strong for Bees at the Gtech this time around
Brentford (0) 1 Toney 76
Liverpool (1) 4 Nunez 35, Mac Allister 56, Salah 69, Gakpo 87
Title-chasing Liverpool secured a first ever win at the Gtech as the Bees succumbed to a second defeat of the season to Jurgen Klopp's league leaders.
The Bees have been a thorn in the side for the Reds in the past two seasons - hitting them for three goals in each of their two Premier League visits, with a thrilling 3-3 draw preceding last season's dynamic 3-1 triumph.
Liverpool's early pressing created pressure without chances and they broke through when on the defensive.
Virgil van Dijk's clearance down the centre from inside his own penalty area left Diogo Jota in a one v one with Sergio Reguilon and a flicked header sent Darwin Nunez in the clear.
The uruguayan's finish was perfect. He steadied himself and lobbed over the advancing Mark Flekken - the ball looping into an empty net.
But the half was far from ideal for Jurgen Klopp as he lost two men to injuries which looked serious. First the lively Curtis Jones twisted an ankle, just before the opening goal, then Jota departed with a knee injury.
It meant the introduction of Mo Salah rather earlier than the Reds would have liked - the Egyptian easing back after picking up an injury himself in the Africa Cup of Nations. Nunez also went off at the break, though the hope for Reds fans is that it was not because he was also hurt.
Salah looked far from match fit when a charge at goal soon after the break ended, when he was guilty of a bad miss from the sort of opportunity he usually gobbles up. How misleading that impression proved.
He made amends almost immediately with a perfectly-weighted pass for Alexis Mac Allister which saw the lead double. The Argentinian side-stepped a flailing Kristoffer Ajer and stabbed home with a low shot into the bottom corner.
And Salah helped himself to the third goal when a long clearance through the middle was nodded onto him by Ryan Gravenbirch (rising above Ajer) and he was able to get around Nathan Collins before slotting home past Flekken.
The Bees looked reliant on set pieces but did fashion a couple of good moves in the first half - one involving Reguilon and Neal Maupay combining down the left to give Ivan Toney a brief glimpse of the target. Toney also had a run on goal, but was thwarted by a backpeddling Ibrahima Konate.
But as the match progressed, the spaces started to increase for the purple-shirted visitors as the Bees were forced to dig deep chasing shadows.
Toney snaffled a rebound to claim a consolation after Caomhin Kelleher had saved from Reguilon.
Even then, the Reds were not done and Cody Gakpo put away a pass from Luis Diaz to emphasise the gulf in class.
The Bees remain in danger near the foot of the table but will not panic. The results they achieve against others in the bottom six or seven will be far more significant in terms of their final standing.
Bees: (3-5-2) Flekken - Collins, Ajer, Mee - Roerslev (Lewis-Potter 63), Jensen (Damsgaard 74), Norgaard (Onyeka 63), Janelt, Reguilon (Ghoddos 86) - Toney, Maupay (Wissa 63)
Reds: (4-3-3) Kelleher - Bradley (Gomez 84) Konate, van Dijk, Robertson - Mac Allister (Elliott 84), Endo, James (Gravenberch 34) - Jota (Salah 44), Ninez (Gakpo h/t) Diaz
Attendance: 17,193
