The 13-second Liverpool goal against Brentford that showed Luis Diaz’s growing importance

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There has been so much focus on the futures of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold at Liverpool but what of Luis Diaz?
Unlike that trio, who have just over 10 months left on their contracts, Diaz is tied to a long-term deal. But such is his outstanding form and growing importance that he is surely deserving of an upgrade soon enough.
After all there has been a summer of rumour and speculation about the Colombian – including wild reports that Manchester City were set to sign him – but in what was his 100th appearance he is certainly an increasingly vital player for Liverpool.
And while those claims of other clubs – Barcelona were also linked – may not be accurate it is usually a sign of something brewing; an agent agitating or a small notice of discontent or unrest that needs to be dealt with.
There was a flame of that in Alexander-Arnold’s unhappy reaction to again being substituted – after being taken off in last weekend’s Premier League opening victory away to Ipswich Town – which new manager Arne Slot had to move to quell by saying he was “taking care of him”.
At the same time Van Dijk, who incredibly has now lost just two of his 100 league games for Liverpool at Anfield, talked of how “calm” he was over his own contract situation – while Salah does what Salah does. The Egyptian scored yet again.
That came with an assist from Diaz, who claimed a stunning goal of his own to open the scoring, and so Slot’s first league game at Anfield got off to a flying, confident start with a deserved victory over Brentford.
In fact this was, arguably, Diaz’s most impressive overall display for Liverpool – in the way he linked the attack and the dynamism he showed – since signing for £37 million from Porto in January 2022. Diaz scored, created five chances, won all six of his duels and had a 100 per cent success rate with his passing which is all the more impressive given he is an attacker.
There was another goal, also, for Salah – who else? – who had struck against Ipswich and the only concern for Jurgen Klopp’s successor was that the scoreline was not even more convincing. In saying that Slot appeared to demand greater control where Klopp may well have insisted on Liverpool being more full throttle and, also therefore, vulnerable. Instead they kept a second successive clean sheet and, with City, Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion have made the perfect start.
Liverpool fully merited the points – Brentford’s Thomas Frank admitted that – scoring twice, striking the goal-frame twice and creating a host of opportunities, denied only by some excellent defending.
Brentford also threatened, in an open match, but maybe paid the price for continuing to leave Ivan Toney out of their squad as his future remains unresolved. Frank refuted that – and pointed out they had beaten Liverpool before without him. He added that the striker “trained all week” but admitted he did not know what would happen next.
Diaz’s future is surely certain, for now, and with a contract that runs until 2027. But his reputation is growing and deserving of reward and it was summed up in the exhilarating way he took his goal.
It was just 13 seconds from Brentford taking a corner to Diaz finding the net. Ibrahima Konate headed clear, Salah won a challenge with Vitaly Janelt on the edge of the Liverpool penalty area and Diogo Jota sprinted from his own half, sliding a pass through to Diaz who had made a clever diagonal run between the two covering defenders.
It was the angle of the forward’s movement that made the goal as he then took the ball on at high speed with two touches before driving it high into the goal. No way was he going to be caught. On the bench there were ‘high fives’ from Slot and his delighted coaching staff.
That trio of Salah, Diaz and Jota are clearly Liverpool’s first-choice forward-line and it was telling that all three were substituted to rest them before the end. Slot’s understudies are Cody Gakpo – who struck the crossbar – Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott.
The strike meant Diaz has scored the first goal at Anfield for three seasons in a row. He now must follow that up with far greater consistency, of course.
In the previous two full campaigns the 27-year-old has finished with five and 13 goals but he has the capability to significantly raise that total. Diaz is aware of that need. “We always say to score, for us the numbers are important because we are forwards. We live for goals,” he said.
That is Salah’s creed. In the second-half, Liverpool poured forward with a smart pass from left to right by Diaz to switch play, picking out Salah. He had cannily moved into space, stayed onside, took the ball in his stride and bent it around goalkeeper Mark Flekken.
His statistics? It was his 128th goal involvement – 93 scored, 35 assisted – at Anfield in just 128 league games.
Before that, Brentford had missed their best chance with Alisson saving well from Nathan Collins’ close-range header. The 31-year-old goalkeeper, who turned down a move to Saudi Arabia this summer and has insisted he will stay until his contract expires in 2026, was serenaded by the Kop. It turned out to be that comfortable for Liverpool. Their immediate future looks certain.
“I think Trent [Alexander-Arnold] has many many qualities, one of them in his crosses from the side. If we play him in the midfield, he can only pass the ball – which he can do quite well – but I want him in dangerous positions across the goal. 
“He has to position himself and the rest has to react to it. And it depends on how the opposition lines up and where we can get the best out of him.
“We try to influence him as much as we can before the game, to say maybe here or there can open up gaps for you to come in. But nine out of ten times the opponent does something else  to us compared to against other teams. At least it was in my Feyenoord period and in these last two games as well. 
“So you try to adjust during half time to see where he could be the free player. Then he has the bodies to play everywhere. He can pass the ball as a No 6, he can cross as a right winger.
“And if he’s inside, he can also cross it from the inside and get shots on target over there. He’s a difficult one to play against Trent.”
“Our defensive performance today was really good. The only two small chances, one of them was big, were out of a set piece. We controlled the counter attacks, we controlled them in their build-up. Apart from that, we created many good chances in the second half.
“I think Liverpool fans saw these performance under Jurgen many, many many times. But what I mean with control is when we concede the counter attack, we see everyone sprinting back trying everything which they can not to concede. That’s what happened really well today, apart from one or two set pieces. The good thing is one set piece we defended really well that we scored from it for the first goal.
“In the end, you could see Brentford didn’t have the legs to defend against us, that’s because of what we did in the first half.”
“It was a tough game. I think we did well in the first half. We had to find our way in the first 15 minutes but we found our rhythm and then we should have done better on the transition when we conceded. It seemed like they stepped their game up in the second half and from their second goal it was like a finished game.
“With the offensive forwards they have you know it is a tough match every time you come here. You prepare yourself to stop as much as possible. I saved some, didn’t save enough, lost the game.
“There are a lot of positive things. We had some good moments with the ball, maybe we should do better at finding that link up to our forwards. That is something to analyse. We have a game on Wednesday so we have a chance to win.”
“A game of two halves. We were very good first half, I thought it was very even, in the stats and everything. They scored the goal from our mistake which is a situation here you either take the ball or the man, and then we need to defend the two on two situation better.
“We have a great chance with Christian Norgaard, a free header. And another chance. Our pressing and our overall build up were good. So an even game, maybe our best first half here at Anfield.
“Second half Liverpool went up a notch. We still had a good chance through Nathan Collins at 1-0, so we had the chances. We did not create enough today. In the end Liverpool win fair and square.”
On lessons to take ahead of upcoming away games: 
“The first half, then can we take and build into 60, then 70 and so on amount of minutes into a game.
“We just know Liverpool is a good team. For me City, Arsenal and Liverpool are the three that are a little bit ahead of everyone else, some of the best teams in Europe. We hoped for more, we came here to try and win, but we couldn’t do it.”
Two games.Two clean sheets. pic.twitter.com/SZ9d1oMIAe
262 – Today was Virgil van Dijk’s 100th Premier League appearance for Liverpool at Anfield. He has won 82 and lost just two of those (D16), with only Patrice Evra with Man Utd (263) picking up more points in his first 100 home games with a side in the competition than van Dijk… pic.twitter.com/eii9R9eMvQ
“It was great to score. I always try to help the team in the best way possible. Of course, numbers are very important for us because we are forwards and we live off that.
“Very happy for the team. The team did a great job and that’s the most important thing. Now it’s time to rest for the next game.”
“It all starts, it sounds cliche, but we all defend together. If you see how quickly they counter on us, we get behind the ball no matter what happens. Its’ a good start, something to build on, so let’s see.
“The time with Jurgen was amazing. The time with Arne is there now. He has a certain way of playing out of the back, the way we defend, a lot of meetings, but with a lot of detail. We see a lot of patterns with and without the ball that give us a lot of confidence and structure to the team.
“I’m not saying forget about the Jürgen period, but that’s the past. But we have the new boss and that’s what we want to focus on, not comparing the bosses.”
“No new players in yet, but [there is] that extra responsibility because I know the players inside out. I’m there for him, I told him that from day one. I will help him and the backroom staff as much as possible. That’s what he wants and the rest of us want.
On his future:
“I’m very calm [about my future]. The thing is, I want to play the best season I can again. I want to be important and stay important for the club. What happens? Let’s see, but I’m very calm about my situation. There’s no reason for me to think about something else because I have the whole season to play.”
“Whatever happens now, Anfield has a special place in my heart. And it’s been successful. Let’s see what happens.
“I want to go as afar as possible and win it. But playing for Liverpool, one of the most if not the most successful club in the world. It feels great to wear the shirt. But there’s so much for the club to improve on, for myself and the team, let’s see what it brings.”
“We played a fantastic game. The team gave everything from the first minute which you could see and it was a good game. In possession and without the ball it was good so we are really pleased.”
On his thoughts for the season ahead: 
“We know there is still room for improvement. In the transition sometimes we need to be patient but instead we are quite direct but we are in that transition [towards that style]. Everyone is working hard to get into Arne’s ideas.”
On the Manchester United game up next: 
“We know against Man Utd it is a derby, it is very important for the club and for us. We will prepare during the week and do our best to win that game.”
Goalscorers ⚽️💫 pic.twitter.com/xGvLhuBnU4
92% – Liverpool completed 92% of their passes in today’s game against Brentford, their best passing accuracy in a Premier League game on record since 2003-04. Slotted. pic.twitter.com/5QFdd72YAt
“[Arne] Slot will be delighted with their start. It was of paramount importance to get six points from the first two games, and he’s done that.
“But you have to be patient. Even when the great Jurgen Klopp came here, not everything was perfect. It took time for the fans to understand what he wanted and to buy into his style. It’s going to take the same for Slot.”
“Slot could not have wished for a more serene start – two wins, two clean sheets, and the promise of more improvement. He may suggest his side should have been more clinical in both their fixtures so far, but the Kop ended the day singing the new manager’s name. They like what they’re seeing so far.”
Arne Slot said before the game that there would be no trademark Klopp fist pumps and there are not any as he waves to the Anfield faithful.
There is the final whistle and Liverpool win Arne Slot’s first home league game 2-0. Goals from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah make it two wins from two for the home side. Consecutive 2-0 wins to start the season for Liverpool.
We return to Anfield with a win ✊🔴 #LIVBRE pic.twitter.com/8cghaUxJSl
The Arne Slot chants ring around Anfield as we enter the final few seconds.
Mbeumo is booked in the final moments. He wanted a free-kick moments before and then fouls Mac Allister, which is followed by him kicking the ball away and is therefore shown a yellow card.
Liverpool are going to make their final change:
OFF Gravenberch
ON Endo
Gravenberch goes off to a standing ovation.
There are five added minutes.
Gakpo fizzes in a ball from the left and Pinnock does well to head the ball away under pressure from inside his six-yard box.
After Flekken plays the ball out of play, Elliott shows quick-thinking and takes the throw-in quickly. Szoboszlai lays it back to Elliott, who sends in a cross from the right. Nunez gets his head on it but his effort goes wide. The offside flag went up anyway.
The Arne Slot chant rings around Anfield as Liverpool prepare another change:
OFF Salah
ON Elliott
Hits the bar! Gakpo cuts in from the left and fires a shoot towards goal. It comes off Collins’ head and clips the bar . Robertson swings it in and Konate wins the header, but it goes off target.
Szoboszlai tries to find Gakpo at the back post but there is slightly too much on it.
Double Brentford change:
OFF Wissa, Janelt
ON Schade, Onyeka
Triple Liverpool change:
OFF Jota, Diaz, Alexander-Arnold
ON Nunez, Gakpo, Bradley
Salah (71’)
That goal had been coming for a while. Salah is found on the right-hand side. Flekken comes out of his goal to narrow the angle but Salah opens up his body and curls into the far corner. There will be a VAR check as it was close to offside but Salah is onside. 2-0 Liverpool.
“Brentford’s resistance finally breaks. Liverpool are looking very good indeed when they click. Two games in, the transition is looking encouragingly seamless.”
Mbuemo goes down inside the Liverpool box after contact from Robertson but the offside flag goes up.
Liverpool are all over Brentford but still have not added the second. Diaz drives towards the box and feeds it to Jota on the left-hand side of the box. His shot is blocked by Collins again.
Double Brentford change:
OFF Lewis-Potter, Janelt
ON Carvalho, Damsgaard
Plenty of applause around Anfield for Carvalho on his return to Liverpool having joined Brentford just a few weeks ago.
Diaz so close to his second. Salah drives past Ajer on the right and cuts it back. Diaz takes it first time from around the penalty spot and Flekken does so well to get down to his left and push it behind. Liverpool banging on the door for their second.
“Liverpool are at their best when playing at a higher tempo. Some exhilarating one-touch football. Brentford have done well to ensure there remains some jeopardy in this game after an hour.”
More beautiful one-touch play from the hosts. Salah plays a one-two with Szoboszlai, then involves Jota and Mac Allister, who nearly finds Salah but Janelt pokes it behind for a corner. Alexander-Arnold tries to score from the corner, which he attempted in the first half and strikes the post. The ball comes back out to Robertson, who sends in a cross fom the left and finds Konate, whose header is saved by Flekken.
Sublime football from Liverpool. They work it from back to front and progress towards the Brentford box. Mac Allister finds Alexander-Arnold with a beautiful dink and Alexander-Arnold plays it first time across to Jota. He thinks he is about to score but Collins slides in with a wonderfully-timed block to deny Jota.
Brentford have a corner on the left in front of their travelling fans. They take it short and then Jensen sends it to the far post. Ajer wins the header and Alisson pulls off a good save to deny him.
Alexander-Arnold plays a wonderful low ball into Jota’s path. The Portuguese forward takes the shot on from outside the box but his effort is blocked. What a pass that was from Alexander-Arnold.
Mbuemo cuts onto his left and shoots from the edge of the box. It takes a deflection and goes behind for a corner. They take it short and then send it in but van Dijk is on hand to head away. Roerslev attempts an audacious volley from around 25 yards out but he gets it all wrong.
Salah finds Szoboszlai with a great pass into the right-hand channel of the box. He fizzes the ball across and Brentford do really well to get the ball away from danger.
What a save from Flekken. Jota attempts an acrobatic overhead kick, which ends up finding Robertson at the far post. He looks destined to score but Flekken pulls off a great save, mainly with his face, to deny the home side.
Collins goes down very early in this second half after contact with Jota during an aerial challenge. Brentford awarded a free-kick.
Liverpudlian Katarina Johnson-Thompson, who won silver at the Paris Olympics in the women’s heptathlon, has been on the pitch at half-time showing off her silver medal and with a Liverpool shirt. 
We are back under way at Anfield. Liverpool attacking towards the Kop in this second half.
Possession: Liverpool 56%- 44% Brentford
Shots on target: Liverpool 2-1 Brentford
Touches in opposition box: Liverpool 10-5 Brentford
Remember you can have your say on the match in the comments section.
“[Thomas] Frank will be delighted with how his side has responded as the half has progressed. Liverpool seemed caught between inviting more pressure to counter-attack – that’s when they have looked most dangerous – but they lost control after an excellent start. Slot will have been pleased to make some half-time adjustments.”
 
There is the whistle and Liverpool lead 1-0 at the break thanks to Luis Diaz’s early goal.
Ahead at the break 🙌🔴 #LIVBRE pic.twitter.com/eWjFs9VOKH
Two added minutes at the end of this first half.
Jensen upends Mac Allister and is shown the yellow by Stuart Attwell. Two yellow cards for each side now.
Lewis-Potter is found by a wonderful diagonal ball from the right. He cuts inside from the left onto his right and shoots from the edge of the box. Alisson gets down to his left to make the save.
Liverpool work it really well from back to front. Alexander-Arnold is found on the right and cuts inside onto his left. His curling effort takes a big deflection and nearly ends up in the Brentford goal. It loops over for a corner, which Brentford clear.
Diaz is taken out by Norgaard on the left-hand touchline and the Brentford midfielder is rightly booked for completely taking out Diaz.
Gravenberch is booked for a sliding challenge on Jensen. He went sliding in with some force but no studs showing so a yellow card appears to be the right call from Stuart Attwell.
Roerslev sends in a good ball from the right to the far post but Konate does really well to win the header and it goes behind for a corner, which Liverpool clear. Brentford have had a number of set-pieces already; corners and free-kicks, and any opportunity they get they are sending into the Liverpool penalty area.
“A quick synopsis of the immediate difference between Klopp-ball and Slot-ball. With Klopp-ball, the build-up was quick-quick-quick-quick. Slot-ball is a bit more quick-slow-slow-quick. The tempo changes in possession make it a bit more jazz than heavy metal.”
Mbuemo takes into an inviting area and Norgaard is well-placed to head towards goal, but he wastes the chance and it ends up going wide of the far post. Chance missed for the visitors.
Salah looks to counter but referee Stuart Attwell penalises him for a foul on Lewis-Potter. Instead of Liverpool being on the counter-attack, Brentford now have a free-kick in a good position on the left.
Szoboszlai takes down Wissa as Brentford counter and the Hungarian is booked. Szoboszlai had given the ball away and is now into the book.
Alexander-Arnold takes but he cannot quite get it to come down quickly enough and goes over for a goal-kick. He will be slightly disappointed with that effort.
Diaz cuts in from the left and Norgaard takes him down not far outside the Brentford box in a central position. Good area for Liverpool…
Alexander-Arnold goes down just outside the Brentford box but referee Stuart Attwell waves those appeals away.
Liverpool move it beautifully down the right. Szoboszlai lays it back to Alexander-Arnold, who tees it up for Salah. He tries to find the far corner but gets his shot all wrong. Live it looked like it must have taken a deflection but Salah just did not get it right at all.
Chance for Liverpool. Diaz drives into the box on the left and finds Robertson with a run into the box. He tries to sneak it past Flekken at the near post but the Brentford goalkeeper gets down to make the save.
Alexander-Arnold takes the inswinger and tries to score, but Collins heads behind for another corner. Alexander-Arnold takes again but Flekkn punches away from danger.
From a Brentford throw-in deep in the Liverpool half, the home side counter again. Alexander-Arnold sends it forward to find Salah but Lewis-Potter does well to slide in and take possession not far outside his own box.
Diaz (13’)
Brentford took a risk pushing everyone forward for their corner. Liverpool counter and Jota races forward. He then feeds it into the path of Diaz, who is running towards the box. The Colombian smashes it past Flekken and into the back of the net to give Liverpool the lead. The first league goal at Anfield under Arne Slot and a goal for Diaz on his 100th appearance for Liverpool.
“A certain Telegraph Merseyside football reporter wrote last season if Luis Diaz could finish he’d score 30 goals a season. That should be the first of many under Slot. Lighting break, Brentford falling into the trap that Liverpool so relish setting – hut on the counter-attack.”
Brentford have their first corner of the game as Alexander-Arnold slides in to block Lewis-Potter’s cross. Liverpool clear and counter…
Liverpool have the first corner of the match as the last touch comes off Pinnock on the right-hand side of the box. Robertson to take the inswinger. Wissa heads away for Brentford and they then counter, but Liverpool get men back to prevent the visitors from getting into their box.
Janelt finds Wissa down the left-hand channel and drives towards the Liverpool box. He sends an inviting ball across but none of his teammates are there to meet the cross.
When the teamsheets were released, it appeared that Brentford were going to line up with a back three/ five but in the early stages it appears they may be playing with a back four. Ajer looks like he is playing left-back, with Lewis-Potter playing more as a winger than a wing-back.
After the first rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone of the new league season, we are under way at Anfield. Arne Slot’s first Premier League home game in charge of Liverpool begins.
Both sides emerge from the tunnel and we are just moments away from kick-off at Anfield. This is Liverpool’s first Premier League home game without Jurgen Klopp in the home dugout since September 2015. Arne Slot comes out behind the teams and waves to the crowd as he takes his seat in the dugout.
Liverpool owner John Henry is in attendance at Anfield today. Time for You’ll Never Walk Alone.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Salah, Jota, Diaz.
Substitutes: Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Nunez, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, Quansah, Bradley.
Brentford: Flekken, Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer, Norgaard, Janelt, Jensen, Mbuemo, Lewis-Potter, Wissa.
Substitutes: Valdimarsson, van der Berg, Schade, Carvalho, Onyeka, Mee, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Trevitt.
On Ivan Toney:
“The status is the same as last week. Things are going on with transfer speculation so the decision is the same. He is training well, there is no problem. I’d rather focus on the game and the players that are playing instead of talking about him.”
On his emotions:
“I feel normal. I don’t expect the fans to be here for me, they are here for the players. It’s nice to play your first home game especially after a win last weekend.”
On selecting Ibrahima Konate over Jarell Quansah:
“Jarell missed a few training sessions this week due to a little injury but he did train yesterday but that combined with how Konate came in that made it an easier decision. If Jarell was fit it would have been a more difficult one.”
“And so it begins… a new Anfield era without the charismatic presence of Jurgen Klopp. Do not anticipate any Kop fanfare to welcome Arne Slot, though, the Dutch manager preferring a low key introduction in front of his new audience. 
“The support is not something we take for granted. We know it constantly has to be earned,” writes Slot in his programme notes, having said he wants the attention to be on the team more than him.
“Brentford are again without Ivan Toney – a wholly unsatisfactory situation. Thomas Frank will be pleased when the transfer window is closed so he can start picking players on his club’s payroll again.”
“Liverpool are compelled to move on from the Jurgen Klopp era to maximise Arne Slot’s chances of repeating it. Not unexpectedly, the rest of the world is not ready to do so at the same pace.
“For the time-being and no doubt the foreseeable future, every decision, comment and celebration is being viewed under the lens of ‘what would Klopp do?’ So it was despite a winning start in last week’s Premier League opener.”
To read more from Chris Bascombe, click here.
Despite an approach from Saudi this summer, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has committed his future to the club. His current deal runs until 2027 and the Brazilian is open to extending his contract beyond then.
100 appearances in Red for Lucho! 💯🇨🇴 pic.twitter.com/deTidJEqZu
Arne Slot makes one change from Liverpool’s 2-0 win on the opening weekend against Ipswich. Ibrahima Konate replaces Jarell Quansah at centre-back, with the former having replaced the latter at half-time in the win at Ipswich. Curtis Jones is not in the squad due to a minor knock whilst Joe Gomez is back in the squad, having missed the Ipswich game due to ongoing speculation over his future.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson, Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai, Salah, Jota, Diaz.
Substitutes: Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Nunez, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, Quansah, Bradley.
Brentford also make one change from their opening weekend win over Crystal Palace as Keane Lewis-Potter replaces Kevin Schade. There is no Ivan Toney in the squad as he continues to be linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Former Liverpool players Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg are on the bench for Brentford, having swapped Anfield for the Gtech this summer.
Brentford: Flekken, Roerslev, Collins, Pinnock, Ajer, Norgaard, Janelt, Jensen, Mbuemo, Lewis-Potter, Wissa.
Substitutes: Valdimarsson, van der Berg, Schade, Carvalho, Onyeka, Mee, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard, Trevitt.
Having switched Liverpool for Brentford this summer, Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg have returned to Anfield very swiftly to face their former side. Both are on the bench, with van den Berg only signing for Brentford on Thursday.
Our new boys in familiar surroundings! 👋 pic.twitter.com/i406Z0AE8S
Your Bees to face Liverpool 🐝#LIVBRE pic.twitter.com/zxKUcRVrtf
The Reds to take on Brentford ✊🔴
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Anfield is the stage for the final game of the Premier League weekend as Liverpool host Brentford in Arne Slot’s first competitive home game in charge of Liverpool. Slot has experienced Anfield in charge of Liverpool in their pre-season friendlies against Sevilla and Las Palmas just before the start of the season, but today represents the first time that Liverpool will play at Anfield in the league without Jurgen Klopp at the helm since September 2015. Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3-2 at home under Klopp’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers in late September of 2015. Klopp said goodbye to the Kop in May with a 2-0 victory against Wolves and now it is Slot’s team. When asked earlier this week whether he was nervous ahead of his first Premier League home game, Slot said he is not feeling nervous due to the preparation his side have put in during the week.
“It’s the first league game at Anfield and looking forward to it, but I’m looking forward to every game. I hope they [the Liverpool fans] will be twice as loud as the Ipswich fans because they were really really loud.
“That would be a big help, but I’m not nervous at all, certainly not at this moment. I’m in the middle of preparing the team and the nerves are not there. It wouldn’t be a good thing. If you have nerves, you may not trust what you’ve done before, you might not trust your team. I trust what we do in the whole week to prepare the team and I trust the team on Sunday.”
Liverpool began the Slot era with victory after beating Ipswich 2-0 at Portman Road thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Mohamed Salah.
Brentford were also victorious in their opening game as they overcame Crystal Palace 2-1 at home, Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa with the goals. Fabio Carvalho and Sepp van den Berg have both made the switch from Anfield to the Gtech Community Stadium this summer. Carvalho made his Brentford debut off the bench in the victory over Crystal Palace and van den Berg, who signed from Liverpool on Thursday, could be in line for his debut this afternoon. Ivan Toney, who did not feature last weekend due to ongoing transfer rumours linking him with a move to Saudi Arabia, could play today having trained this week.
Liverpool won both fixtures against Brentford last season by an aggregate score of 7-1.
Team news to follow shortly.