Liverpool, January 17 (BNA): Liverpool found the necessary scoring alternatives in the absence of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, as their confrontation escalated in the 3-0 victory over Brentford in the English Premier League.
Midfielder Fabinho proved an unlikely solution with his third goal in eight days with the opening just before halftime. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and substitute Takumi Minamino scored in the second half, according to the Associated Press.
A 0-0 draw against 10-man Arsenal in the League Cup on Thursday raised questions about how Jurgen Klopp’s side would deal with Salah and Mane remaining in the Africa Cup of Nations, but the result gave more hope for the weeks ahead.
With their first clean sheet in five league matches and their first league win since mid-December, Liverpool overtook Chelsea in second place but 11 points behind Manchester City with a game in hand.
Corner kicks have proven to be a source of frustration for Liverpool in recent weeks, and are rarely a threat at all. So the opener coming from a steady group was a huge boost.
Trent Alexander-Arnold assisted for the 10th time in 21 games, heading Fabinho’s corner kick into the far corner in the 44th minute.
Since the start of the 2018-2019 season, only Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller (64) and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lionel Messi (47) have received more assists in the five major leagues in Europe than the right-back (42).
Brian Mbiomo missed a chance to equalize early in the second half when he missed a goal leaving only goalkeeper Alisson Becker to win.
Liverpool’s second goal eventually arrived in the 69th minute when Andy Robertson met a cross from the left flank with a header from Oxlade-Chamberlain into the far corner.
This was his last intervention as he left with an ankle injury to add to Klopp’s headache up front.
But his replacement, Minamino, made an immediate impact by putting the ball into the net in the 77th minute after a foul in the Brentford defence.
The London club remained above the relegation zone by ten points.