EPL: Liverpool crush Brentford

Liverpool roared back from their toothless midweek EFL Cup draw against Arsenal with a 3-0 win against Brentford.

The win helped the Reds leapfrog Chelsea to the second place and move within eleven points of runaway leaders Manchester City with a match in hand. 

In the reverse fixture, Brentford snatched a point away from the mighty Scousers in a 3-3 draw.

But, they were lightyears away from replicating that performance this afternoon and are rightfully winless on the road since October. 

Takumi Minamino grabbed the headlines against Arsenal for missing an open-net chance in the dying minutes.

Chamberlain starts

The Japan international was one of the two absentees from the Thursday XI as he made way for a rare Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain start while youngster Curtis Jones also got the nod. 

The hosts put their feet on the accelerator from the word go.

Diogo Jota sailed a header over the crossbar, Trent Alexander-Arnold missed the side post by inches and Virgil van Dijk made Alvaro Hernandez pull off an excellent save to keep the Kopp End from erupting. 

Despite the dominance, there was a sense of uncertainty in the Anfield atmosphere and it only dissipated once Fabinho headed in an Alexander-Arnold corner. 

There was no looking back for Liverpool beyond that point as they started to probe the Brentford half with more intensity to put the game to bed. 

Spaces were opening up in the middle park, but the Bees barely threatened to exploit those.

The only highlight of their match was when Bryan Mbuemo ghosted past Joel Matip and narrowly missed the target. 

Jota rattled the woodwork before failing to beat Fernandez in a one-on-one situation. It was evident that a second goal was coming sooner or later.

Liverpool kept on knocking on Brentford’s door and it got only louder and louder as the match progressed.

Chamberlain, Minamino score

Finally Liverpool reaped the reward for their sustained pressure as Chamberlain marked his return to the side with a headed goal.

Andy Robertson was the provider this time around. 

Minamino made amends for his misses as he added a third to Liverpool’s goal tally after replacing Chamberlain in the 74th minute. 

The defeat keeps Brentford pinned at 14th place, but Thomas Franck would be seeking solace in the fact that his team are still 10 points clear of the drop zone and are favourites to extend their stay in the English top-flight after reappearing in the division for the first time in 74 years this season.