Mohamed Salah netted for the ninth Liverpool game in succession to hand Brentford a first defeat in four Premier League games.

The home side started strongly and were rewarded when Salah bundled home from close range after 13 minutes.

After weathering Liverpool’s early storm, Brentford improved and thought they would go in level only for the offside flag to deny Bryan Mbeumo a fine individual effort.

The second half was an even affair. Rico Henry fired the Bees’ best chance wide from 10 yards before Cody Gakpo somehow deflected Diogo Jota’s cross off target from under the shadow of the crossbar.

Despite pressing for a leveller late on, Thomas Frank’s side could find no way through as the hosts wrapped up a sixth-straight Premier League win.

National anthem observed before kick-off to mark Charles III’s coronation

Thomas Frank made two changes from last weekend’s dramatic win over Nottingham Forest.

Zanka replaced Kevin Schade, slotting in alongside Ethan Pinnock and Ben Mee in a back three.

Frank Onyeka also came in for Mikkel Damsgaard as the Bees tightened up their midfield trio.

Fresh from Wednesday’s win over Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp selected an attacking line-up.

Andy Robertson replaced Kostas Tsimikas at left-back with Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota taking the places of Jordan Henderson and Luis Diaz in midfield.

Ahead of kick-off, the national anthem was played to mark the Coronation of His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Consort.

Brentford: Raya; Hickey (Wissa 88), Zanka, Pinnock, Mee, Henry (Schade 72); Janelt (Damsgaard 82), Onyeka (Dasilva 72), Jensen (Baptiste 82); Mbeumo, Toney

Subs not used: Cox, Ghoddos, Ajer, Roerslev

Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, van Dijk, Robertson (Tsimikas 82); Fabinho, Jones (Milner 82); Salah, Jota (Henderson 73), Gakpo; Nunez (Diaz 65)

Subs not used: Kelleher, Gomez, Elliott, Carvalho, Matip

Salah bundles home to give Liverpool the lead

When the game got underway, Liverpool were on top from the off.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold fulfilling his new auxiliary midfield role, alongside Fabinho and Curtis Jones, Brentford spent the opening 20 minutes camped in their own half as the home side probed for an opening.

Salah curled an early long-range effort into David Raya’s arms before the Egyptian almost turned provider for Diogo Jota. Only Zanka’s timely interception prevented the ball reaching the forward, unmarked, in the six-yard box.

Jones hit a well-struck shot into the body of Aaron Hickey, but the waves of Liverpool pressure eventually told.

The Bees dealt with the initial corner but, when it was returned to the back post by Fabiano, van Dijk got the wrong side of Ivan Toney and nodded it down for Salah to scramble home from close range at the second attempt. Brentford seemed convinced that a VAR check for offside would save them, but the check was made, and the goal stood.

Jones curled another effort from distance into Raya’s arms, Ben Mee blocked from Darwin Nunez, and van Dijk lashed wide from 30 yards before the hosts had a huge chance to double their advantage.

In the holding midfield position, Alexander-Arnold lifted a straight ball over the top of the Brentford backline which Nunez ran onto. However, with the goal at his mercy from eight yards, he got his finish all wrong and looped the ball well over the bar.

Up to then, Brentford’s sole effort on goal had been a tame Mbeumo low shot but the final 15 minutes saw Frank’s Bees wrestle the initiative off the hosts.

It helped that the game broke down. Anthony Taylor was a busy man with the whistle and that stop-start pattern certainly helped Brentford get up the pitch and into dangerous areas.

Mathias Jensen and Toney pressed a mistake in possession out of Alexander-Arnold just outside the Liverpool box, but van Dijk read the danger and came over to clear as Brentford tried to work the ball into the area.

Toney then drove a low free-kick just past the foot of Alisson’s right-hand post before Brentford through they had their leveller.

Zanka fired a ball into Toney which he turned around the corner and beyond van Dijk for Mbuemo to run onto. With almost the entire length of the Liverpool half between him and the goal, Mbeumo did brilliantly to hold off van Dijk and cut inside Ibrahima Konate, prior to curling home from the edge of the box. However, no sooner had the ball hit the back of the net, the linesman’s flag went up and the resulting VAR check found Mbeumo offside by the barest of margins.

The final action of the half was a Jota snapshot blocked at close range by Ethan Pinnock.

Brentford unable to find a breakthrough despite a fully committed performance

Behind at the break, Brentford were very much still in it and started the second half strongly.

In a lively seven-minute spell after the interval, Brentford looked the more dangerous. Onyeka drove a shot from the edge of the box into the body of van Dijk. Although it appeared to hit the Dutch defender’s arm, it was well inside the frame of his body.

Konate then made a fine recovery challenge to take the ball away from Mbeumo as he looked to collect Jensen’s pass on the edge of the box and Henry sliced well off target after opening up a good shooting position down the left channel of the box.

When Liverpool did create a chance of their own in the second half, Gakpo somehow managed to clear Jota’s driven cross away from goal, rather than into the empty net in front of him.

After that bright opening, the game settled down again. Brentford brought fresh legs in the shape of Schade, Josh Dasilva and Mikkel Damsgaard off the bench to inject fresh impetus but Liverpool responded with the introduction of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Kostas Tsimikas.

Those Liverpool changes helped stifle Brentford. Despite having plenty of the ball, and the attacking players on the pitch to do something with it, the Bees were kept at arm’s length in the final 25 minutes.

And while Brentford were in most need of a goal, it was Liverpool, and Alexander-Arnold in particular, who looked the more likely to get one in the closing stages.

Dasilva had already made one block to deny the Liverpool full-back before Raya flew to his right to turn another powerfully struck drive behind. Gakpo then missed his second big chance of the afternoon to wrap things up, lashing wide following Hickey’s header across his own box.

In the end, Liverpool’s missed chances didn’t come back to haunt them as they soaked up Brentford’s late pressure to seal the three points.

Frank: We caused Liverpool problems

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank stated that, despite being disappointed to lose 1-0 to Liverpool on Saturday, he was pleased with his side's performance.

"I know this business is black and white, it is about winning, but to get to a stage where you can have these more consistent performances [is great]," he reflected after the full-time whistle.

"If you compare the two performances from last year to this year, it’s a different level."

Mee: Goal was ‘too easy’

Ben Mee shared his frustration after Brentford’s defeat at Anfield.

"The goal we conceded was disappointing,” he said. “It was too easy from our point of view. We’ve got to defend balls into the box better than that."