Digging Deeper Into Liverpool’s Comfortable Win Over Brentford

Liverpool came into the game with Brentford looking for their first league win in a month. Missing Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, the question leading into the game was whether Liverpool could get the offense going. The Reds piled on the pressure early and often, getting off shot after shot, finally breaking through late in the first half. Liverpool didn’t give Brentford room the breathe in the second half, piling on two more goals while only allowing a shot on target from the Bees in the 92nd minute.

Let’s take a look at some of the winners, losers, and other narratives around the game.

Winners

Fabinho
The Brazilian holding midfielder is in a very nice run of form. After scoring a brace two games ago against Shrewsbury Town, Fabinho got back on the scoresheet, putting in the opening goal against Brentford. Fabinho was stellar all over the field, putting two shots on target, leading the team with four key passes, making two interceptions, and winning seven headers.

Special Delivery
Liverpool’s dynamic fullback duo provided some sensational deliveries today, both from open play and from set pieces. Trent Alexander-Arnold had an assist from a corner kick, while Andy Robertson had an assist from a pinpoint cross to the back post. Trent leads the league with 10 assists on the season, while Robertson has 6.

Offensive Output
Against Arsenal, Liverpool struggled to create much of anything with Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane away on international duty. It was a different story against Brentford as Liverpool pummeled them with 27 shots, including 13 on target.

The offensive output was spread throughout the squad as 11 different players took a shot, with 9 of those players getting at least one shot on target. The goals and assists all came from different players on the day. The goals came from a midfielder (Fabinho) and two reserve forwards (Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Takumi Minamino). Taki’s goal was a nice birthday gift to himself as he turned 27 today.

The assists come from the aforementioned fullbacks, with the third coming from Bobby Firmino. Despite not getting as many minutes this season, Firmino has been very efficient while on the field, getting a goal or an assist every 79 minutes.

Midfield Control
Liverpool’s midfield was overrun the last couple of league games, but they looked very good today. Curtis Jones and Jordan Henderson popped up all over the field to win the ball back high up the pitch to maintain possession and pressure. Henderson was a continual threat on the overlap down the right wing, and Curtis Jones displayed his strong close control on the dribble several times. Fabinho, as mentioned above, was sensational as well.

Losers

Alisson The Sweeper Keeper
Look, this is super nit picky, but there wasn’t much on the negative side of things for Liverpool today. The Brazilian keeper is usually quite good with the ball at his feet, but he had a span in the first half where he mishit three balls, sending them out of play with little to no pressure.

Rafa Benitez and Everton
It was announced just before halftime in the Liverpool game that the former Reds manager had been sacked by Everton. The Anfield faithful started singing his name as a jibe to their crosstown rivals who continue to be a mess.

From the Manager

“When I arrived the picture looked completely different. It has been intense times since then. Each little thing you do is really worth it. It is like a family. We are far away from finishing the book so we will keep writing & see where we end up.”

-Jurgen Klopp on his 350th match in charge at Liverpool

What Happens Next

Liverpool will head to London to take on Arsenal in the second leg of the EFL Cup semifinal on Thursday. The teams go into the match deadlocked after a 0-0 draw at Anfield last week.