Mohamed Salah registered his 200th goal in English football as Liverpool returned to winning ways in the Premier League in emphatic fashion with a 3-0 rout of Brentford at Anfield.
Bouncing back from a disappointing draw with Luton Town and Europa League loss to Toulouse, the Merseyside giants survived a couple of heart-in-mouth moments, but Brentford ultimately had no answer to a landmark Salah brace and a late Diogo Jota drive.
Frustration was the theme for Jurgen Klopp's troops throughout much of the first half, and for Darwin Nunez in particular, as the Uruguayan livewire had the ball in the ball in the back of the net in the 22nd minute only to be denied by the tightest of offsides.
Only five moments later, Nunez found the mark with an acrobatic effort after Mark Flekken produced a top save from Virgil van Dijk's header, but the offside decision was much more clear-cut this time around.
Brentford were still proving a danger on the counter through usual suspects Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo, the latter of whom got beyond Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 32nd minute to race through on goal, but he failed to get enough purchase on his chipped effort to trouble Alisson Becker.
Alexander-Arnold did not cover himself in glory in that instance, but the right-back more than made amends in the 39th minute, playing a pivotal role in another landmark goal for Salah.
Picking up the ball midway into the Bees half, the Reds' vice-captain played a crisp line-breaking pass into Nunez on the edge of the box, and the South American fed the charging Salah to calmly curl home into the bottom corner.
Salah's opener made him the first-ever Liverpool player to score in their opening six home games of a league season, as well as stretching his streak of direct top-flight goal involvements at Anfield to 15 matches, and the Egypt international should have buried another chance in injury time, only to miss the mark at the far post from close range.
Both goals continued to be peppered with shots following the interval, although Frank was left wagging his finger in disapproval after Wataru Endo escaped punishment for catching Christian Norgaard with his studs in the 54th minute, although replays showed that both players had committed to the 50-50 tackle.
The Dane's expression turned even more sour in the 62nd minute, as Kostas Tsimikas just about managed to keep the ball in play on the left-hand side and lifted a cross to the right-hand side of the box, where Salah was on hand to nonchalantly nod in his second of the afternoon.
There were shades of Newcastle United vs. Arsenal as officials checked whether the whole of the ball had crossed the whole of the byline before Tsimikas's delivery, but the goal was given as Salah celebrated his 200th strike in English football.
Brentford's attacking threat evaporated after that blow, and Liverpool put the result beyond any doubt in the 76th minute, as Tsimikas - registering his second of the afternoon - played a short pass into Jota, who cut inside from the left and rifled a powerful drive into the side of the net from the edge of the box.
However, it would not have been a Liverpool victory would a couple of defensive heroics, as V Dijk flicked Norgaard's header off the line in the 79th minute, one moment before Alisson palmed an Ethan Pinnock effort over the bar from another set-piece, and there was time for Reds youngster James McConnell to earn his Premier League debut deep into added-on time.
Thanks to their three-goal margin of victory, Liverpool have risen above Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal into second place in the table - behind Manchester City on goal difference before Pep Guardiola's side meet Chelsea - while Frank's side have dropped below West Ham United into 10th spot owing to the Irons' win over Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool now have two weeks to prepare for a daunting trip to the champions on November 25, while Brentford face an equally challenging assignment against Arsenal in their first game back following the international break. body check tags ::
