Brentford 1-4 Liverpool: Mohamed Salah makes winning impact on return to help Reds consolidate Premier League lead

Mohamed Salah starred on his return to action as Liverpool moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League table courtesy of a thumping 4-1 victory at Brentford.

The visitors opened the scoring on 35 minutes when Darwin Nunez raced on to Diogo Jota’s superb header to exquisitely lob Mark Flekken and snare his 13th goal of the season.

Alexis Mac Allister doubled the advantage on 55 minutes when he took a pass from Salah – on as a first-half substitute – to stab a low shot into the corner.

Salah then made it a goal and an assist on his comeback from a hamstring injury as he raced after Cody Gakpo’s flick-on and fired into the corner for his 19th of the campaign.

Ivan Toney pulled one back with his fourth in five matches since serving a betting ban, but Gakpo capped Liverpool’s win with a clinical effort four minutes from time.

It was an excellent result in a tricky encounter on paper for the league leaders, but there was a sour note for Jurgen Klopp as both Curtis Jones and Jota left the field through injury in the opening 45 minutes, to add to a growing list of stars on the sidelines ahead of Sunday’s League Cup final with Chelsea at Wembley.

The result means the Merseysiders will finish the weekend at the summit, although title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal can close the gap again when they play later on Saturday.

Next up, Liverpool face Luton at Anfield on Wednesday night. Brentford visit Man City on Tuesday.

The Reds have a crunch Premier League clash at home to Manchester City on the horizon in March, but before then they have to navigate Luton and Nottingham Forest as well as the small matter of a Carabao Cup final and an FA Cup fifth round tie with high-flying Championship outfit Southampton.

These are exciting times for Kopites as the Merseysiders look to end Klopp’s final season in style, but with a relentless schedule and the return of the UEFA Europa League not far away, their hopes in all of those competitions could yet come under threat from an increasing number of stars in the treatment room.

Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip, Thiago Alcantara, Dominik Szoboszlai and Stefan Bajcetic were already out ahead of this showdown with The Bees, but now Jota and Jones have added to the list with Nunez also withdrawn at the interval as a precaution.

In a title race involving a winning-machine like Man City there’s no room for a slip, but with so many key players injured on the sidelines, it could yet be a significant factor in just what this Liverpool team can achieve this season.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool). The Egyptian answered the SOS off the bench following Jota’s injury and looked like he’d never been away. A goal, an assist and an all-round impressive display was just the tonic and a major positive heading into a crunch run of fixtures for the Merseysiders.

BRENTFORD: Flekken 6, Collins 6, Ajer 6, Mee 6, Roerslev 6, Jensen 7, Norgaard 7, Janelt 6, Reguilon 6, Toney 7, Maupay 7. Subs: Wissa 6, Onyeka 5, Lewis-Potter 5, Damsgaard 5, Ghoddos n/a.

LIVERPOOL: Kelleher 8, Bradley 8, Konate 8, Van Dijk 8, Robertson 8, Mac Allister 7, Endo 8, Jones 7, Jota 7, Nunez 7, Diaz 8. Subs: Gravenberch 7, Salah 9, Gakpo 8, Elliott n/a, Gomez n/a.

35’ – GOAL! – Brentford 0-1 Liverpool: (Nunez). Jota races after VVD 's hoofed clearance and nods brilliantly into the path of Nunez, who surges clear before lobbing the keeper with an exquisite finish.

55’ – GOAL! – Brentford 0-2 Liverpool: (Mac Allister). The visitors double their advantage as Mac Allister takes Salah's sumptuous pass in his stride and stabs past Flekken from eight yards out.

68’ – GOAL! – Brentford 0-3 Liverpool: (Salah). He's back with a bang! Salah races on to Gakpo's flick-on, holds off his man and steers a low shot into the far corner.

75’ – GOAL! – Brentford 1-3 Liverpool: (Toney). Kelleher produces a magnificent stop to keep out Reguilon from 15 yards out, but Toney is there to gobble up the rebound.

86’ – GOAL! – Brentford 1-4 Liverpool: (Gakpo). The Dutch forward slides a calm finish beyond the keeper after Diaz had pounced upon a defensive howler and set him free.

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media