Liverpool 2-0 Brentford: Player ratings as Reds keep up perfect start under Arne Slot

FROM ANFIELD - Liverpool made it two wins from two to start the new Premier League season as they beat Brentford 2-0 on Sunday.

Goals in either half from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah handed the Reds a deserved three points as Arne Slot kept up his fine start to life on Merseyside.

The hosts are one of just four teams who have registered wins in each of their first two fixtures.

How the game unfolded

Brentford had enjoyed a bright start to proceedings but fell behind when an attacking opportunity of their own was turned against them.

Having earned a corner in the 13th minute, the Bees were soon picking the ball out of their own net as Salah and Diogo Jota sprang a break that ended in Diaz finishing well.

Brentford almost made better use of a set-piece shortly after, Christian Norgaard heading wide a glorious opportunity from close range.

But the Reds continued to threaten, with Salah shooting over after intricate play down the right and Trent Alexander-Arnold forcing Nathan Collins into a desperate block in the box.

Diaz's goal was enough for Liverpool to take a lead into the break, but the precariousness of their position was underlined following the restart when Collins forced Alisson into a fine save with a back-post header.

However, that seemed to wake the hosts up, with Jota and Salah going close after intricate build-up before Alexander-Arnold hit the post with a corner.

And Liverpool's redisovered threat was finally rewarded when Diaz slid in Salah after a high turnover and the Egyptian finished with customary cool to make it 2-0 with 20 minutes remaining.

Further gloss was almost added to the scoreline when substitute Cody Gakpo smashed the bar late, but that mattered little in the end as Slot's side saw out an excellent three points.

Liverpool player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: Alisson - 7/10 - Had a largely quiet day but then popped up with a crucial save from Collins to keep it at 1-0.

RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold - 7/10 - Anybody concerned that he might not be as influential under a new manager has already had their concerns assuaged. Created four chances.

CB: Ibrahima Konate - 8/10 - Justified his selection ahead of Jarell Quansah with a towering performance - entirely necessary given Brentford's set-piece threat.

CB: Virgil van Dijk - 7/10 - Less involved in the aerial battles than Konate but clipped Wissa and Mbuemo's wings on the break.

LB: Andy Robertson - 7/10 - A useful outlet on the attack with his trademark energy and crossing.

CM: Ryan Gravenberch - 8/10 - Is adapting well to his new holding role, even if it isn't quite perfect. Swept up and used the ball well in tight areas.

CM: Dominik Szoboszlai - 7/10 - Tenacious off the ball and showed some lovely touches in tight areas on it.

CM: Alexis Mac Allister - 7/10 - More influential in the second half than the first but a double pivot clearly gets the best out of him.

RW: Mohamed Salah - 7/10 - Scored a classic Salah goal his dribbling had Ajer struggling throughout.

CF: Diogo Jota - 7/10 - Picked the right pass to set up the opener and was constantly finding dangerous pockets of space.

LW: Luis Diaz - 8/10 - Scored, assisted, and generally terrorised the Brentford defence across a wonderful performance.

Substitutes

SUB: Conor Bradley (73 for Alexander-Arnold) - 6/10

SUB: Darwin Nunez (73 for Jota) - 6/10

SUB: Cody Gakpo (73 for Diaz) - 7/10

SUB: Harvey Elliott (84 for Salah) - 7/10

SUB: Wataru Endo (90 for Gravenberch) - N/A

Subs not used: Caoimhin Kelleher (GK), Joe Gomez, Kostas Tsimikas, Jarell Quansah.

Manager

Arne Slot - 8/10 - Brentford offer a fairly unique challenge unlikely to be found in the Eredivisie and yet the new manager seemed to have all the answers.

Brentford player ratings (4-4-2)

GK: Mark Flekken - 7/10 - Made a couple of fine saves to keep Brentford in it but was powerless for both goals.

RB: Mads Roerslev - 5/10 - Couldn't stop the flow of Liverpool attacks down his side and didn't do much going forward.

CB: Nathan Collins - 7/10 - Made some great blocks inside the box and came closer than any Brentford player to scoring with a second-half header.

CB: Ethan Pinnock - 6/10 - In the periods where Brentford were hanging on, he was there to clean up on numerous occasions.

LB: Kristoffer Ajer - 5/10 - Caused chaos at times with his charges up the wing but he could never deal with that Salah, Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai triangle.

RM: Mathias Jensen - 5/10 - Took up a high position in an attempt to force Robertson back but it didn't work. Had little impact on the other side of the ball.

CM: Christian Norgaard - 5/10 - Headed a glorious chance wide in the second half and was otherwise overwhelmed in midfield.

CM: Vitaly Janelt - 4/10 - Didn't do enough to protect the back four and was weak against Salah in the build-up to the first goal.

LM: Keane Lewis-Potter - 7/10 - Threatened Liverpool on numerous occasions with his pace and dribbling.

CF: Yoane Wissa - 6/10 - Occasionally caught the hosts out with his running in behind but didn't do much with it.

CF: Bryan Mbuemo - 5/10 - Much quieter than usual and wasted some half-promising positions, albeit in one-v-one situations with Van Dijk.

Substitutes

SUB: Mikkel Damsgaard (65 for Lewis-Potter) - 6/10

SUB: Fabio Carvalho (65 for Jensen) - 6/10

SUB: Frank Onyeka (74 for Wissa) - 6/10

SUB: Kevin Schade (74 for Janelt) - 6/10

Subs not used: Hakon Valdimarsson (GK), Sepp van den Berg, Ben Mee, Yehor Yarmoliuk, Ryan Trevitt.

Manager

Thomas Frank - 5/10 - Would have hoped to catch Premier League newbie Slot off guard, but saw his side dominated for the most part.

Player of the match - Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool)