Not as comfortable as the 3-0 scoreline suggests and a performance that doesn’t point to the end of the slump Liverpool have suffered in form in the last few games.
Even though a series of draws and losses have all but paid to Liverpool’s title aspirations the Reds will still welcome this victory, which wasn’t too taxing, although Alex Oxlade Chamberlain seemed to have twisted his ankle in the second half and may well be out of the second leg of the League Cup tie against Arsenal at the Emirates this Thursday, the first game having ended in a tame 0-0 draw at Anfield, and this despite the London club having gone down to 10 men after 25 minutes when the hapless Granit Xhaka was sent off for a clumsy challenge on Diogo Jota, who was clean through on goal after a long ball from Andy Robertson.
Today’s performance was similarly uninspiring and this despite the necessary changes to the lineup Jurgen Klopp had to make after the dismal Arsenal game.
Thus, in came Oxlade Chamberlain for James Milner – the ex-Arsenal man must have been wondering about his long-term future at the club when he was named on the subs bench last Thursday behind the veteran – and Curtis Jones for Taki Minomino, the Japanese striker once again failing to impress against Arsenal, his unimpressive display culminating late on with an extraordinary miss from four yards out in front of an open goal, with the goalkeeper stranded behind him.
And, indeed, both Jones and Oxlade Chamberlain, with their ability to carry the ball, did add to Liverpool going forward, even if the cutting edge – with Sadio Mané, Mo Salah and Naby Keita all absent at the Africa Cup of Nations – was still missing.
Before Liverpool did score on the 44th minute, it was Brentford, without the ball for so much of the game, who had the better chances. A couple of shots just wide of Alisson Becker’s post were ominous.
But fears of an upset were eased when a corner in from the left from Trent Alexander Arnold skidded up off the turf in the six yard box and found the head of Fabinho who nodded the ball into the net. This was the Brazilian’s third goal in a week, having scored two in the 4-1 win against Shrewsbury Town in the third round of the FA Cup last Sunday.
Liverpool added a second on 69 minutes after a whipped long cross from Robertson defeated two Brentford defenders and found Oxlade Chamberlain, who stooped and dived to power the ball into the back of the net with his head.
Typical of Oxlade Chamberlain’s luck, however, having made a decisive contribution and shown his worth to the team, a few minutes later an innocuous challenge in the Brentford area ended with the midfielder on the ground in agony, clutching his ankle.
Once the pain subsided, Oxlade Chamberlain tried to play on but he couldn’t put any weight on his ankle and he had to be subbed off, making him a major doubt for the crucial Arsenal clash in four days.
Oxlade Chamberlain’s replacement, Minamino, added a third on 77 minutes when Roberto Firmino stole the ball off the Brentford defence as it tried to play out from the back, exchanged passes with the Japanese, which ended with Minamino stroking the ball into the goal from five yards out.
Liverpool’s next league game is against an improving Crystal Palace side away next Sunday.
The Reds are now 11 points behind Manchester City in the title race but with a game in hand. In other words, if Liverpool are to stop Man City from turning the title race into a meaningless procession, then they will have to be almost perfect from here on in, not only winning against Man City away in April but virtually every game they play till the end of the season. And even then they will need City to drop a further five points, something it’s hard to see them doing given their run of form and straightforward run in.
