Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has new partner in crime as Reds thrash Brentford
In pictures: Liverpool v Brentford
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah has a new partner in crime in the shape of Darwin Nunez, with the attacking duo wreaking havoc in the Brentford defence on Sunday. The Reds claimed their eighth Premier League victory of the season as they thumped the Bees 3-0 courtesy of a Salah brace and a strike from Diogo Jota.
Liverpool had to wait until the 39th minute to take the lead as Salah latched onto Nunez’s pass before picking out the bottom corner. And the Egypt international then had bags of space in the penalty area as he headed in Kostas Tsimikas’ cross just after the hour mark.
Tsimikas turned provider once again for the third goal of the game as Jota curled the ball into the corner of the net from the edge of the box. And Express Sport takes a look at four key takeaways from the match.
Salah and Nunez partnership
Salah excelled for years in a front three alongside Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino. And he now appears to have the ultimate attacking partner in Nunez. The Reds duo linked up time and time again during the visit of the Bees and exhibited an understanding that appears to have been fine-tuned on the training pitch. If they keep up the same form over the coming months, Liverpool could hand out some absolute hidings to the weaker sides in the Premier League.
Nunez unfortunate
Despite his star performance, Nunez was unfortunate not to come away from the match with at one goal. Midway through the first half, the Uruguay international had a goal ruled out after he had strayed offside by the finest of margins. And the centre-forward then had a sensational overhead kick chalked off for another offside offence just moments later.
Nunez has missed his fair share of chances this season – but he is more than capable of bagging another 15 top-flight goals before the campaign ends if he can replicate Sunday’s performance on a regular basis.
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Jurgen Klopp short on numbers
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp had to improvise with his team selection against the Bees due to a whole host of injury problems and named Cody Gakpo in midfield. With Alexis Mac Allister banned for the encounter and the likes of Ryan Gravenberch, Thiago, Andy Robertson, Curtis Jones and Stefan Bajcetic sidelined through injury the German had to stock his bench with a whole host of youngsters, including 16-year-old Trey Nyoni. James McConnell also came on for his Premier League debut late on. Klopp will be desperate to have more players available after the international break, with the matches coming thick and fast.
A big performance from Tsimikas
Tsimikas endured a horror show in the Europa League on Thursday night and was hauled off at half-time as Liverpool were defeated 3-2 by Toulouse. The Greece international has suffered a dip in form this season and didn’t even make the starting line-up against Luton last Sunday, despite the long-term absence of fellow left-back Robertson.
But Tsimikas illustrated his talents against the Bees and showed he can be a reliable alternative to the Scotland international thanks to his two assists and his contribution to his team’s clean sheet.
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