Liverpool’s first Premier League match at Anfield under Arne Slot ended in a fairly routine 2-0 victory over Brentford, albeit after a host of missed chances.

Liverpool 2-0 Brentford

Premier League (2), Anfield
August 25, 2024

Goals: Diaz 13′, Salah 70′

Alisson – 8 (out of 10)

Safe hands with one shot in the first half, but otherwise had little to do in the opening period. Also had to make a smart save just after the restart from a close-range header.

Showed the usual great footwork and secure passes under pressure. Looks great in the new ‘keeper kit.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7

Doesn’t seem to be up to speed yet but had a few nice moments in attack, a cut-inside and a shooting chance that was saved and a few nice combinations with Mo Salah running past him.

Substituted after the second goal, but he might still play after the summer.

Ibrahima Konate – 8

The only difference from the opening weekend, when he almost scored, was that his header was saved on the line.

Defensively he was very solid. He won the duels that Arne Slot talked about at Ipswich and made sure he covered Alexander-Arnold when he needed to. In the second half he was even better at strengthening the game when the Reds were dominant.

Bryan Mbeumo was kept very quiet when he was running or trying to cut.

Virgil van Dijk – 7

Not at his best in the first half – he lost a challenge to Yoane Wissa on the halfway line and one or two aerial attacks higher up the pitch – but in the penalty area he won everything.

The second half was a piece of cake for him, he only managed to deal with sporadic counters. Two clean sheets from two.

Andy Robertson – 7

He almost scored near the post midway through the first half, but it also cost him a few decent attacks with passes behind his goal.

Defensively, he ultimately had little to do as he was high up the pitch to collect a late Brentford counter, but he might still have scored when he met a Diogo Jota effort at the far post.

Ryan Gravenberch – 7

More of the same as last week, when he made some good fouls and showed that he wants to drop back, but also… that he is not a natural defensive midfielder.

He was slightly outplayed and given a yellow card for an overzealous, poorly timed tackle.

Alexis Mac Allister – 7

He appears to be the sharpest of the three midfielders so far, although we have yet to see any of them in top form.

He made some great little passes in and around the penalty area, was involved in the second goal and almost claimed the first assist of the season.

Dominik Szoboszlai – 7

It was an inconsistent performance, with some decent positions and some nice space jumps, but not always the right choice of pass.

Involved in the second goal, regaining possession. Booked in the first half after a clumsy touch and tackle.

Mohamed Salah – 8 – Man of the Match

As usual he was in constant action and showed plenty of intent, but the narrow margins initially played against him, with a series of blocked shots, refereeing decisions and slightly sub-par return passes meaning Salah was never really given a clear field of vision.

Played a central role in the best attacking move of the match, passing the ball three times in succession, which almost allowed him to score at the far post.

With 20 minutes left, Salah had his moment when he was outplayed… and he made no mistake, scoring his second of the season.

Robbie Fowler now leads the way with his goals at Anfield.

Luis Diaz – 8

He made full use of his first chance of the match and opened the scoring with a quick strike.

He was taken on the dribble a few more times after that, because he proved to be a great outlet. From that moment on he was happy to keep a final product.

One of the balls went over the post just before time with a low shot and Jota had a great chance shortly afterwards, before providing the assist for Salah’s goal.

Diogo Jota – 7

Some really nice passes, including the through ball for Diaz’s goal.

He didn’t get a single chance to score in the first half, but after the break he almost provided Robertson with an assist with a bicycle kick.

Actually, he should have scored himself soon, but a shot from close range was well blocked by a defender. More sweat than inspiration this time.

Substitutes

Cody Gakpo (on for Diaz, 72′) – 7 – Rattled the beam with a deflected long-range shot.

Darwin Nunez (on for Jota, 72′) – 6 – First minutes of the competition, little involvement. One shot went wide but was offside.

Conor Bradley (replaces Alexander-Arnold, 72′) – 6 – A few runs forward, a challenge, a foul.

Harvey Elliott (replaces Salah, 80′) – N/A – Came from the right and gave a few crosses.

Wataru Endo (for Gravenberch, 90′) – N/A – Only injury time for his first appearance.

Unused substitutes: Kelleher, Quansah, Gomez, Tsimikas

Arne Slot – 8

There were no surprises in the starting line-up and Slot got the slightly faster start he wanted via a goal from Diaz, but the pace of that period could not be maintained for long.

Liverpool were sloppy at times in the first 45 minutes, but improved in the second half.

That is not an easy or immediate solution, given the varying fitness levels and the fact that we were a poor starter for a long time under the previous regime.

It may be surprising that no substitutions were made while the game was still in the balance, but the current second-choice players were given minutes immediately after the second goal. This is important because we play Manchester United next and we don’t want to send forwards onto the field in that game.

It was largely the same as the first game: control and a touch of quality, but not really clinical.

Liverpool could have scored eight goals this season but we have six points and that’s all we need so far.