Salah propels Liverpool to the second place with a brace against Brentford

Big-money signing Darwin Nunez is definitely playing better than in his maiden season, but he is still a bit away from the form he is expected to be, considering the price tag. But there is no worry for Jurgen Klopp, at least when he has Mohamed Salah in the starting 11. The Egyptian has been exceptional this season and scored a brace in Liverpool’s 3-0 win over Brentford. With these two goals, the Egyptian has now scored 17 goals (and assisted in three) in each of his last 15 home Premier League appearances and joins the exclusive club of only three players, Alan Shearer (twice, March 1995 – February 1996, 18 in a row & April 1996 – May 1997, 17) and Thierry Henry (November 2002 – October 2003, 17) being the other two.

It was supposed to be Nunez’s night, though, as the Uruguayan was looking to redeem himself from a stunning miss against Luton, which ended in a surprise 1-1 draw. But, it was not his night after all (again). Former Benfica striker again started in the first 11 and scored two goals in the space of seven minutes, only to see them both being cancelled due to offside (checked by VAR). But then it was time for master Salah, who shook the net in the 39th minute, to give his team the lead, after a very intense first half, in which both teams had good chances, apart from this one goal and two cancelled ones.

Brentford came to Anfield looking to make it four wins in a row, while the Reds have spotless record at home (all wins) and wanted to maintain that. Duels between the teams have been epic of late, with six-goal thrillers, shock results and late drama, but tonight was not that kind of game. The strong victory was in the end, but the Bees had their opportunities both while the score was 0-0 and 1-0. When they failed to use them, Liverpool struck back with Salah, the executor, like in the 62nd minute. After that, the game was effectively over, and Diogo Jota put a don’t on ‘i’ with the third and final goal of the game, which propelled Liverpool to third place in the Premier League and level on points with City and Arsenal.

Elsewhere, West Ham United ended a run of four Premier League games without victory, striking late to defeat Nottingham Forest 3-2 in an entertaining encounter at the London Stadium. Also, Aston Villa put in a dominant display on their way to a 3-1 win over Fulham, recording their fifth consecutive victory in home head-to-head encounters against the Cottagers.

Last but not least, Brighton threw away a halftime lead to hand Sheffield United their first away point of the season, as Mahmoud Dahoud’s red card helped the Blades to a 1-1 draw, extending the visitors’ unbeaten run on the south coast to eight matches.

PREMIER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 12

Saturday

Wolverhampton - Tottenham 2-1 (0-1)

/Sarabia 90+1, Lemina 90+7 - Johnson 3/

Arsenal - Burnley 3-1 (1-0)

/Trossard 45+1, Saliba 57, Zinchenko 74 - Brownhill 54/

Crystal Palace - Everton 2-3 (1-1)

/Eze 5 pen, Edouard 73 - Mykolenko 1, Doucoure 49, Gueye 86/

Manchester United - Luton 1-0 (0-0)

/Lindelof 59/

Bournemouth - Newcastle 2-0 (0-0)

/Solanke 60, 73/

Sunday

Brighton - Sheffield Utd 1-1 (1-0)

/Aldingra 6 - Van Hecke 73 og/

Liverpool - Brentford 3-0 (1-0)

/Salah 39, 63, Jota 74/

West Ham - Nott.Forest 3-2 (1-1)

/Paqueta 3, Bowen 66, Soucek 88 - Awoniyi 45, Elanga 63/

Aston Villa - Fulham 3-1 (2-0)

/Robinson 27 og, McGinn 42, Watkins 64 - Jimenez 70/

19.30: (5.40) Chelsea (3.70) Man.City (1.75)

***odds are subject to change