By Neil Johnston.
Mohamed Salah continued his superb scoring form as Liverpool made it six Premier League wins in a row by defeating Brentford 1-0 to move one point behind Manchester United in the race for the top four.
The Egypt forward became the first player in Reds history to score in nine consecutive home appearances in all competitions, while his winner was his 100th goal for the Reds at Anfield.
His 13th-minute attempt was not the most eye-catching goal of his career – Salah bundling the ball over the line from close range after Virgil van Dijk’s cushioned header across the six-yard box.
But Salah’s 30th goal of the season set Jurgen Klopp’s side on the way to another crucial win that keeps alive Liverpool’s outside hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.
Liverpool are on 62 points, one behind fourth-placed Manchester United who have two games in hand – including one at struggling West Ham United on Sunday (19:00 BST).
At a vibrant Anfield, Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo thought had equalised only for it to be ruled out for offside after a video assistant referee check, while Cody Gakpo missed a great chance to make it 2-0 after the break from point-blank range.
Before the game, many Liverpool fans booed the national anthem which was played as a tribute to King Charles III on the day of his coronation, despite the club saying they know some fans “have strong views on it”.
Salah reaches Anfield century
Where would Liverpool be without Salah?
In front of Liverpool’s all-time record scorer Ian Rush, Liverpool’s number 11 reached a century of goals at the iconic home of the Reds, while Salah has now scored 30 goals or more in four of his six seasons at Liverpool.
Fabinho was heavily involved in the move for the goal, the Brazil midfielder playing a lovely pass into the box for Van Dijk to tee up Salah to equal Steven Gerrard’s tally of 186 for Liverpool in all competitions.
On a day of milestones, Alisson was relatively untroubled as the Brazil keeper made it 100 clean sheets for Liverpool in all competitions, while Trent Alexander-Arnold produced the pass of the match to set up Darwin Nunez who should have made it 2-0.
Gakpo will also feel he should have scored after Diogo Jota’s pass into the six-yard area, while David Raya thwarted Alexander-Arnold in the closing stages.
Liverpool, who won just two of their opening eight Premier League games, are ending the season strongly but they are also running out of games in their efforts to qualify for the Champions League.
They have just three more left – Leicester (away), Aston Villa (home) and Southampton (away). Manchester United remain strong favourites to seal a top-four finish, with three of their five games at home to Wolves, Chelsea and Fulham.
Liverpool fans, however, will still believe they can sneak into the top four while their side carries on winning.
Battling Bees come up short
Brentford have had another fine season under Thomas Frank and continue to win a legion of new admirers for the way they have established themselves in the top half of the table.
This season alone has brought them statement wins over both Manchester clubs and Chelsea, while they were chasing a first league double over the Reds after defeating Jurgen Klopp’s side 3-1 in London in January.
They were fully committed at Anfield with Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo both lively but, for all their hard work, the Bees registered just one attempt on target.
Toney, who has 20 Premier League goals this season, went close from a free-kick in front of the Kop while Aaron Hickey also had a chance to equalise.
Despite defeat, Brentford remain on course for their best top-flight finish since 1938.