Liverpool v Brentford player ratings: Salah 7, Gakpo 6; Mee 7, Toney 6

Reds win 1-0 at Anfield for sixth straight Premier League victory to keep pressure on Manchester United

LIVERPOOL RATINGS: Alisson – 7. Just one shot on target from Brentford meant there wasn’t much for Alisson to do, but he dealt well with a flurry of crosses in the second half. PA

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7. Dictated the play in the first half and was unlucky not to get an assist from Nunez’s effort. Worked hard to ensure that space down the right channel wasn’t exploited. Reuters

Ibrahima Konate – 7. Swept up loose balls and was decisive with his decision making. A strong performance, although he did pick up a booking harshly after kicking the ball away when not hearing the whistle. EPA

Virgil van Dijk – 7. Showed his experience by catching Mbeumo offside before the striker’s strong finish and won the majority of his duels. Getty

Andrew Robertson – 6. Final touch could have been better when putting balls into the box, but was a constant option on the left, and worked hard before being replaced by Tsimikas. PA

Fabinho – 7. Committed a high volume of fouls in a difficult battle with Brentford’s physical forwards. The Brazil international’s pass to Van Dijk was crucial to securing the three points, splitting the opposition defence before a straightforward finish for Salah. EPA

Curtis Jones – 6. Kept the play ticking in midfield without trying too much. Couldn’t find as much space against a stubborn Brentford defence. PA

Mohamed Salah – 7. Involved in Liverpool’s best pieces of play and became an Anfield centurion with instinctive movement in the 13th minute to send home the winner. Reuters

Cody Gakpo – 6. Played in a deeper role and looked assured for the most part. Drove with the ball into spaces at the right times, and provided a glimpse of a new way Klopp could deploy him in future. Getty

Diogo Jota – 6. Close to assisting a goal with a cross that he hit with power into the six-yard box, but there was too much on it for Gakpo to add the final touch. PA

Darwin Nunez – 6. Caused problems with his movements and had a big chance that he had to do more with, hitting the ball over the bar from a tremendous Alexander-Arnold pass. EPA

SUBS: Luiz Diaz (Nunez 65') - 5. Never stopped running but he wasn’t presented with a chance to test Raya in Brentford’s goal. EPA

Jordan Henderson (Jota 73') - N/A. Brought on to add more bodies to Liverpool’s tiring midfield. He made a good defensive header to stop Mbeumo’s freekick from troubling Allison in the 90th minute. Getty

Kostas Tsimikas (Robertson 82') - N/A. Put in a good cross from a free-kick in the 86th minute. AFP

James Milner (Jones 82') - N/A. Came on and helped the Reds see out the game. PA

BRENTFORD RATINGS: David Raya - 6. Couldn't do much to deny Salah for the opening goal. Forced into a routine save by Jones in the 20th minute. PA

Aaron Hickey - 6. Played in a brilliant pass over the Liverpool defence for Hickey in the 51st minute. Failed to get anything on the ball when he had the chance to draw the Bees level in the second half. PA

Ben Mee - 7. Made a last-ditch interception to deny Salah a one-on-one opportunity in the 30th minute. Stepped in quickly to stop Gakpo from spinning Pinnock and having a crack at goal in the 59th minute. Reuters

Mathias Jorgensen - 6. Produced a brilliant block to stop Salah’s cross from finding Nunez in the 12th minute. Helped limit the threat that came from left side of Liverpool’s attack. AFP

Ethan Pinnock - 6. Showed great awareness to cut out Henderson’s cross into the danger area in the 76th minute. Looked solid next to Mee. AFP

Rico Henry - 6. Stepped across to stop a Salah run in the 45th minute. Later got his effort all wrong when he hit a right-footed high into the stands halfway into the second half. EPA

Frank Onyeka - 6. His run into the final third caused Liverpool problems in the first half. His impact seemed to fade in the second as fatigue crept in. Getty

Mathias Jensen - 6. Should have had an assist in the 67th minute but Hickey failed to connect with his brilliant cross into the penalty area. He helped the Bees kickstart attack from deep by finding Mbeumo and Toney with raking passes. EPA

Vitaly Janelt - 5. Brought a Liverpool counterattack to a halt with a brilliant tackle in the 81st minute. Failed to offer much of a threat going forward. EPA

Bryan Mbeumo - 6. Took one for the team by bringing down Jota with a clever nudge when he seemed to be through on goal. Thought he had drawn the Bees level with a sweet effort in the 40th minute but the offside flag cut his celebration short. Getty

Ivan Toney - 6. Saw his effort from a freekick fly just wide in the 38th minute. Played Mbeumo through on goal with a brilliant backheeled pass just after the restart. Getty

SUBS: Kevin Schade (Henry 72') - N/A. Failed to get past Alexander-Arnold when he had the chance to make something happen in the 76th minute. AFP

Josh Dasilva (Onyeka 73') - N/A. Worked hard after coming on but couldn’t provide the attacking spark Thomas Frank was hoping for. Getty

Shandon Baptiste (Janelt 82') - N/A. Showed good stamina to shrug Salah off the ball in the 88th minute. PA

Mikkel Damsgaard (Janelt 82') - N/A; Yoane Wissa (Hickey 88') - N/A. Both came on too late to make an impact. Getty

An early goal by Mohamed Salah was enough to give Liverpool a 1-0 Premier League win over Brentford on Saturday that keeps the pressure on rivals Manchester United in the hunt for Champions League football next season.

Their sixth league win in a row left Liverpool in fifth spot on 62 points, one behind fourth-placed United, but the Red Devils have two games in hand. Brentford are ninth on 50 points.

Brentford strung five across the back in an effort to thwart Liverpool's array of attacking riches, but they still went behind in the 13th minute as Virgil van Dijk headed Fabinho's cross back for Salah to bundle home his 100th goal at Anfield.

Bryan Mbeumo out-sprinted and out-muscled Van Dijk to fire home in the 40th minute for Brentford, but the flag went up for a marginal offside that was confirmed by VAR and the goal was disallowed.

Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo both wasted good chances to increase Liverpool's lead, but with Brentford only managing a single shot on target, Salah's goal proved enough for the home side to claim the victory.

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