Jurgen Klopp may be denied fairytale Liverpool ending as three problems emerge despite Brentford win

Jurgen Klopp may be denied fairytale Liverpool ending as three problems emerge despite Brentford win

WATCH NOW: Sports round-up as Liverpool beat Brentford in the Premier League

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 17/02/2024

- 14:30

The Reds are five points clear of Manchester City after a comfortable win

Liverpool have again increased their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points after a 4-1 win at Brentford on Saturday.

However, the match could come at a cost for Jurgen Klopp's hopes of finishing on a high as the injury concerns mount up.


Liverpool welcomed Mohamed Salah back to the squad for the first time since New Year's Day, with the Egyptian initially taking up a place on the bench.

The Reds took the lead after 35 minutes when they hit Brentford on the counter-attack, catching the hosts out from their own free kick.

Jurgen Klopp and Mohamed Salah

Liverpool news: Jurgen Klopp's team eased to a win over Brentford on Saturday

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A long clearance from Virgil van Dijk left Brentford short at the back and Diogo Jota capitalised, heading through to Darwin Nunez, who ran through and finished expertly over Mark Flekken.

Liverpool doubled their lead 10 minutes after the break when Salah, on for the injured Jota, found Alexis Mac Allister who quickly turned and finished.

Salah then grabbed a goal of his own to seal the win before Cody Gakpo rounded off the victory late on after Ivan Toney's strike had briefly reduced the scoreline to 3-1.

GB News looks at what we learned from the match at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Injuries may deny Klopp fairytale

Liverpool are still in with a shot of winning all four competitions they have entered this season.

The players undoubtedly want to send Klopp off into the sunset with a dream ending.

However, injuries could cost the German a fairytale finish to his time at Anfield.

Liverpool already had six players missing through injury before the match, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson the latest to fall foul this week.

But another three players could now be set for spells on the sidelines.

Curtis Jones went off following a tackle from Christian Norgaard just a minute before Liverpool took the lead.

Jota was the next to be substituted, with Norgaard again involved, and the Portugal star was clearly in pain with a knee problem and had to be stretchered off in worrying scenes.

To compound matters for Klopp, Nunez was taken off at half-time after a successful first half.

It's unlikely Nunez would have been taken off for tactical reasons but fans will be hoping it was a precautionary decision.

But, with possibly nine players now absent, Klopp knows winning multiple trophies in his final season will be an even tougher task.

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Endo the unsung hero

Wataru Endo

Liverpool news: Wataru Endo is an unsung hero in this Reds team

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Wataru Endo initially took his time to settle into English football.

He was a surprise signing from Stuttgart last summer as Klopp looked around for a defensive midfielder following the departure of Fabinho.

But he has proven to be a really important player in the midfield and has allowed the likes of Mac Allister to play in his preferred role.

Endo is not flashy by any means but is a reliable squad member who knows his job.

Bradley a future star

Conor Bradley

Liverpool news: Conor Bradley put in another fine performance at right-back

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Liverpool have a gem in Conor Bradley, who once again put in a fine performance at right-back.

With Alexander-Arnold in and out of the side in recent weeks, the 20-year-old has filled in admirably.

He is more of a natural right-back than Alexander-Arnold and could allow the England star to move into midfield on a permanent basis.

It will be interesting to see how he builds a relationship down that side of the pitch with Salah now that he is back fit.

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