Arne Slot's first Premier League home game in charge of Liverpool ended in victory as the Reds continued their winning start to the season against Brentford.
Arne Slot’s first Premier League home game in charge of Liverpool ended in victory as the Reds continued their winning start to the season against Brentford.
Luis Diaz’s clinical 13th-minute finish on his 100th appearance for the club since joining from Porto in 2022 set them on their way.
The goal came after a lightning break when a Brentford corner was cleared by Ibrahima Konate, Mohamed Salah set Diogo Jota away with Colombia forward Diaz finishing well.
Liverpool looked full of energy and Mark Flekken made two smart saves to deny Andy Robertson, while Brentford – who were once again without striker Ivan Toney as the transfer deadline approaches – had chances of their own.
Skipper Christian Norgaard spurned a glorious opportunity to equalise from a free header about 10 yards out which he put wide, while Alisson did well to keep out a header by Nathan Collins.
But Liverpool sealed the points when Salah clipped home with his left foot, the Egypt forward’s second goal of the season.
Asides the scintillating performance from the Reds, there was an air of excitement for Slot’s first Premier League home game, with Liverpool’s famous ground sounding even louder than usual for the start of the post-Jurgen Klopp era at Anfield.
A banner was seen raised high in the crowd with the words, “We Got Your Back Arne”, while fans twirled scarves with the Dutchman’s name on them.
Arne Slot is the third manager to win both of his first two top-flight matches in charge of Liverpool while seeing his side also keep a clean sheet in each, after Matt McQueen in 1923 and Graeme Souness in 1991
The boisterous atmosphere continued for a larger part of the game, giving life to the home team, who lacked no weakness despite the rumoured argument that the lack of incomings could have a negative impact on their performance.
The worry is what happens when they have to juggle between the demands of the Premier League and Champions League later in the season.
There is much to admire about this energetic Liverpool side under Slot and while there is certainly still room for improvement, they head to Manchester United next Sunday with back-to-back wins under the Dutchman.
