Gakpo highlights midfield issue
It no doubt wasn’t the early birthday present Cody Gakpo had been expecting.
The day before he celebrated turning 24, the versatile Dutchman was asked to turn out in yet another different position during his short Liverpool career.
Having played on both the left and down the centre of the attack, as well as at the tip of a diamond in the Bernabeu, here Gakpo was thrust into the role of playing on the right of the midfield three.
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The player, as is his wont, simply rolled up his sleeves and got on with it.
In terms of his height helping Liverpool defend set-pieces, it made sense. However, one strong first-half run aside from deep, it didn’t play to Gakpo’s strengths although, as the game became stretched, he should have sealed the win late on.
Jurgen Klopp, though, may argue he had no other choice given the opposition and the players at his disposal, Jordan Henderson not fit enough to start.
That said, Fabinho again quietly impressed with Brentford’s approach meaning Trent Alexander-Arnold was more preoccupied with right-back duties than pushing into a central areas as often as of late.
Klopp later hinted where Alexander-Arnold plays next season will depend on the players Liverpool bring in during the summer. Certainly, the midfield reinforcements cannot come quick enough.
Redemption for Konate and Van Dijk
That Liverpool are in danger of ending the season with a real sense of regret can be traced back to events in London at the start of the year.
A dismal 3-1 reverse at Brentford sent the campaign into a tailspin from which the Reds are likely to run out of time to fully recover.
While the nightmare was a collective one that afternoon, it was a difficult time in particular for the two centre-backs Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk, the former netting an own goal from a corner and bustled off the ball for another, while the latter suffered a hamstring injury that meant he could only watch on as Liverpool subsequently plumbed the depths.
This, then, would have felt a particularly sweet victory for the duo. With set-piece specialists Brentford bolstered by a succession of free-kicks awarded by lamentable referee Anthony Taylor – the tally finished 20-12 in favour of the visitors – much was asked of the Liverpool defence.
They withstood the inevitable barrage to such an extent that Brentford’s end product never managed to match their seeming threat, the performances of Van Dijk and Konate all the more impressive given they had to both negotiate large parts of the game having earlier been booked.
This was something of an evening of redemption for the duo.
Alisson landmark
Mohamed Salah may be creating records by week, but ask any Liverpool supporter the identity of their player of the season and the answer will lay elsewhere.
So it was perhaps apt that on another notable day for Salah, Alisson Becker was able to celebrate his own landmark.
A second successive clean sheet was a 100th in all competitions for the Brazilian, who has sustained a level of consistency throughout the campaign as most of his team-mates have wavered, some from the ridiculous to the sublime.
Alisson will have had more busy outings than this – Brentford managed just one shot on target – but his handling and willingness to race off his line helped thwart the visitors’ threat from set-pieces and counter-attacks. He remains a proactive goalkeeper.
And that he picked up a rare yellow card for time-wasting perhaps underlined the rediscovered steely determination of this Liverpool squad to get the job done, this a sixth successive win to strengthen their grip on fifth place.
The Champions League still looks beyond them, but European qualification now appears an increasing certainty. For Alisson, it’s the least he deserves.
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