Liverpool cruised to a 4-1 Premier League win at Brentford on Saturday as Mohamed Salah made a goalscoring return to action.
Salah suffered an injury on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Egypt, and his return to action at the Gtech Community Stadium came a little earlier than planned, the forward replacing Diogo Jota after he appeared to suffer knee damage in an accidental collision.
Jota had already helped to put Liverpool 1-0 up, nodding a clever pass to Darwin Nunez, who then chipped goalkeeper Mark Flekken in impudent fashion. From there, the home side looked well beaten.
Brentford vs. Liverpool final score
| Fulltime | Goal scorers | |
| BRE | 1 | Toney (74') |
| LFC | 4 | Nunez (34'), Mac Allister (55'), Salah (68'), Gakpo (86') |
Confirmed lineups:
Liverpool (4-3-3, right to left): 62. Caomhin Keller (GK) — 84. Conor Bradley (2. Joe Gomez, 83'), 5. Ibrahima Konate, 4. Virgil van Dijk, 26. Andrew Robertson — 10 Alexis Mac Allister (19. Harvey Elliot, 83'), 3. Wataru Endo, 17. Curtis Jones (38. Ryan Gravenberch, 33') — 20. Diogo Jota (11. Mohamed Salah, 44'), 9. Darwin Nunez (18. Cody Gakpo, 45'), 7. Luis Diaz
Brentford (3-5-2 right to left): 1. Mark Flekken (GK) — 22. Nathan Collins, 20. Kristoffer Ajer, 16. Ben Mee — 30. Mads Roerslev (23. Keane Lewis-Potter), 8. Mathias Jensen, 6. Christian Norgaard (15. Frank Onyeka), 27. Vitaly Janelt, 12. Sergio Reguilon (14. Saman Ghoddos) — 17. Ivan Toney, 7. Neal Maupay (11. Yoane Wissa).
MORE: Where Salah ranks in this season's Golden Boot race
Liverpool lost Jota and Curtis Jones to injury during the first half, but there was no suggestion of Jurgen Klopp's side being shaken from their superiority. Salah's impact was swift, the forward setting up Alexis Mac Allister to make it 2-0 early in the second period via a clever toe-poke finish.
Salah had earlier missed a golden chance to score himself, but he made amends with a little over 20 minutes left, holding off the attention of defender Ben Mee before squeezing a shot across Flekken's goal and into the bottom-right corner.
Brentford star striker Ivan Toney gave the home side some hope of a comeback, converting a close-range rebound after a Caomhin Keller save from Sergio Reguillon, but substitute Cody Gakpo made certain of the points after some dreadful defensive errors gave the forward a simple finish.
Manchester City will now hope to close the five-point gap to Liverpool when they host Chelsea later. Pep Guardiola's men have two games in hand and will return to the top of the table if they win both.
Brentford started the day only six points outside the relegation zone and are City's next visitors, so this setback will leave them looking over their shoulders.
MORE: Could Trent Alexander-Arnold miss the Carabao Cup final? Here's the latest
Brentford vs Liverpool highlights
Watch in USA:
WELCOME BACK, MO SALAH. 🙌
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 17, 2024
A goal and an assist in his return for Liverpool! pic.twitter.com/BQGv5ifmBZ
Watch in Canada:
Brentford FC vs. Liverpool FC | PREMIER LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | 02/17/2024 | Fubo Canada
— FuboCanada 🇨🇦 (@fuboTVCanada) February 17, 2024
Watch EVERY match EXCLUSIVELY on @FuboTVCanada:https://t.co/2w98QqADfX#PL #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/HSLE6OhfSB
Watch in UK:
That is a QUALITY finish 😮💨
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 17, 2024
A fantastic Liverpool counter-attack finished off in style by Darwin Núñez 👏 pic.twitter.com/HPr202EX23
Brentford vs Liverpool kick off time
This Premier League clash takes place at the Gtech Community Stadium in London, UK and kicks off on Saturday, February 17 at 12:30 p.m. local time.
Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Sat, Feb. 17 | 7:30 a.m. ET |
| Canada | Sat, Feb. 17 | 7:30 a.m. ET |
| UK | Sat, Feb. 17 | 12:30 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Sat, Feb. 17 | 11:30 p.m. AEDT |
| India | Sat, Feb. 17 | 6:00 p.m. IST |
Brentford vs Liverpool lineups, team news
Thomas Frank's injury list has not changed ahead of this game. AFCON returnees Yoane Wissa and Frank Onyeka start this one on the bench.
Ivan Toney has been in superb form following his return from an eight-month ban, with three goals in his past four Premier League appearances.
Brentford (3-5-2 right to left): Flekken (GK) — Collins, Ajer, Mee — Roerslev, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Reguilon — Toney, Maupay.
Brentford subs (9): Wissa, Jorgensen, Ghoddos, Onyeka, Strakosha, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Baptiste, Yarmolyuk
Klopp has recalled at least some key stars with Joe Gomez back from illness to make the squad and Ibrahima Konate returning from suspension. However, Alisson's return was scuppered by a reported hamstring injury.
Mohamed Salah is set to feature in the squad for the first time since his injury-enforced Africa Cup of Nations return, with Conor Bradley also back following a bereavement, with Trent Alexander-Arnold ruled out.
Liverpool (4-3-3, right to left): Kelleher (GK) — Bradley, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson — Jones, Endo, Mac Allister — Nunez, Jota, Diaz
Liverpool subs (9): Adrian, Gomez, Salah, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, Gravenberch, McConnell, Quansah
Liverpool vs Brentford live stream, TV channel
Here's how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world's major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | NBC USA Network, Universo | Fubo, Universo NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo |
| Canada | — | |
| UK | TNT Sports 1 | discovery+ |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | — | JioTV, Hotstar |
