Liverpool moved second in the Premier League with a 3-0 victory over Brentford at Anfield.
These two sides played out a thrilling six-goal draw in the reverse fixture but Sunday's contest was decidedly more one-sided, as Jurgen Klopp's men showed a good reaction to their goalless draw with 10-man Arsenal in the EFL Cup.
Fabinho headed in a first-half opener before Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's first league goal of the season and a tap-in from Takumi Minamino sealed the points in the closing stages.
Virgil van Dijk went closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening half-hour, his attempt following a corner brilliantly turned away from the bottom-right corner by Alvaro Fernandez.
The hosts created little else but gifted Brentford some openings with some slack play at the back, with Ivan Toney shooting narrowly wide after a poor Joel Matip clearance.
An offside flag then intervened in another promising Brentford break, and they were behind three minutes later, Fabinho nodding in at the far post after Trent Alexander-Arnold's inswinging corner had bounced through a crowded box.
Bryan Mbeumo fired just past Alisson's left-hand post at the start of the second half, while at the other end, Diogo Jota smashed a shot off the base of the post and Fernandez smothered Roberto Firmino's rebound.
Fernandez again denied Jota when the Portugal forward burst into the box, but Liverpool's pressure eventually told, Oxlade-Chamberlain diving at the back post to head home Andy Robertson's cross from the left.
Firmino then pounced on Brentford's sluggish attempt to pass out from the back before laying the ball off to Minamino to slot home a birthday goal.
What does it mean? Liverpool looking like Manchester City's sole challengers
City's 1-0 win over Chelsea put them 12 points ahead of the European champions at the top of the table, and Liverpool's win here sent them into second place.
Should they win their game in hand over Pep Guardiola's side, the Reds will cut the gap at the summit to eight points – hardly small, but not beyond their means.
They are now arguably the only side who can mount any sort of threat to City's title bid.
Ox in the box
Deployed in Mohamed Salah's usual position on the right of the attack, Oxlade-Chamberlain showed the kind of efficiency in his play to make the Egypt star proud.
While he had the fewest touches (38) of any starting Liverpool player, he created a joint-high three chances and showed great determination to meet Robertson's cross.
Bees lose their sting
After Liverpool's struggle to break down Arsenal in their previous game, Brentford might have viewed this as a chance to build on their impressive performance in the home fixture.
As it was, they failed to muster an attempt on target until a tame Toney effort in injury time as they slumped to a fourth defeat in five league games.
What's next?
Liverpool face Arsenal in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Thursday before a league trip to Crystal Palace in a week's time. Brentford have two full days to recover before the visit of Manchester United.
Diogo Dalot happy to continue ‘special journey’ after signing new Man Utd deal
Diogo Dalot says everyone at Manchester United feels like they are “at the start of a special journey” after signing a new deal until at least 2028.
The 24-year-old right-back joined from Porto in 2018 and has gone on to make 107 appearances in all competitions for the club.
Dalot, who spent the 2020-21 season on loan at AC Milan, has now signed new terms at Old Trafford for the next five years, with the option of a further season.
“Playing for Manchester United is one of the highest honours that you can have in football,” the 11-cap Portugal international said.
“We have shared some fantastic moments over the past five years and I’ve grown so much and my passion for this incredible club has only increased since the day that I joined.
“As a group of players, we all feel like we are at the start of a special journey right now.
“I can assure you that I will dedicate myself relentlessly to helping this group to achieve our aims and make the fans proud of this team.
“That drive continues this week with everyone intensely focused on preparations for the FA Cup final.”
Dalot began the season superbly under Erik ten Hag, but much-improved Aaron Wan-Bissaka may get the nod to start Saturday’s FA Cup final at right-back.
View this post on InstagramIrrespective of his role against Manchester City this weekend, United football director John Murtough is delighted by the strides the full-back has made.
“Diogo is an excellent defender, with a great combination of pace, strength and versatility,” he said. “He has consistently developed, improving year-on-year since joining the club in 2018.
“Diogo’s work ethic and professionalism is superb; the way in which he prepares himself every day in order to perform at his highest level is exactly what we all want from a Manchester United player.
“Diogo has a strong mentality, high standards and a great personality, and we are delighted that he will remain an important member of the squad for the coming years.”
Jack McMillan sets sights on Premiership return with Partick Thistle
Jack McMillan dropped down a division when he signed for Partick Thistle to get more game time and become a better player, but his goal was always to put that improvement to use back in Scotland’s top flight.
The 25-year-old has already achieved the first part of the plan he made when he left Livingston last summer, his performances in the cinch Premiership play-offs so far being evidence of that.
The right-back has scored three of Thistle’s 16 goals in their four matches to date, the latest a header against Ayr in his 50th appearance of the season.
This week he gets the chance to complete the other half of his target when Thistle take on Ross County for a place in the top division.
McMillan said: “I enjoyed my four years at Livingston, it was a great time, but my reason for leaving was to get more game time and play regularly.
“I have managed to do that this season – this will be my 51st start in a row.
“But I would like to get back up to the top division and continue to learn and improve.
“I feel I have improved massively. You can only improve from the games that you play and to play 50 this year is incredible. Touch wood, I have not had any niggles or injuries so far.
“I have hit numbers attacking-wise, I set targets and I have exceeded them.”
McMillan’s move was the second time he went one step back to go two steps forward, having left Motherwell in January 2018 after playing 16 games for the Lanarkshire club.
He was quickly back in the Premiership after helping Livi to play-off success which relegated Thistle in the process, and he sees major similarities in the situation he finds himself now.
“In my time at Livingston, the group were very, very tight,” he said. “You probably saw that on the park. It’s very similar traits to this dressing room as well.
“When we came up with Livingston, we would have beaten anybody. It was that kind of mood that we were in. We had a great season. We were tipped for relegation that season so to go up through the play-offs was massive.”
Thistle have lost just once in 17 matches since Kris Doolan took over as manager three months ago.
McMillan said: “The momentum has been there for a while, maybe since the new manager came in.
“He has tweaked a few things, especially formation, and that has helped the players, especially the two full-backs, myself and Holty (Kevin Holt). It has helped us go forward and play that free-flowing football that we have been doing.”
Experience lacking in Sarina Wiegman’s World Cup 2023 squad
England manager Sarina Wiegman has named her squad for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Sixteen of the 23-player contingent were part of the team that won Euro 2022, but there are some notable absentees through injury, form or retirement.
Here, the PA news agency compares the two squads.
ExperienceWiegman’s World Cup squad is far less experienced than her Euro 2022 selection, with a total of 733 caps at an average of 32 per player compared with 973 – 42 per player – among their predecessors.
Six players have fewer than 10 caps, compared with only four of last year’s contingent, while another half-dozen have amassed at least 50 caps – versus nine of the Euros squad.
Four of the five most-capped players who featured at Euro 2022 – Jill Scott (157), Ellen White (107), Demi Stokes (67) and Nikita Parris (65) – have retired or been overlooked this time, with Lucy Bronze (104) now leading the way ahead of Alex Greenwood (74).
Captain Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby are also absent through injury, while – of the seven new faces – only Jordan Nobbs (71) has more than 10 caps to her name.
As a result of the influx of new players, the average age of England’s squad has fallen slightly since the Euros, from 26.9 to 26.4.
Brighton’s 20-year-old winger Katie Robinson is the youngest player to be selected, ahead of Chelsea’s Lauren James (21).
Manchester City midfielder Laura Coombs is the oldest at the age of 32.
GoalsThe Lionesses are not at full strength in attack, with those going to the World Cup having scored a combined 114 goals at international level compared with their predecessors’ 202.
Season-ending injuries to Mead and Kirby, as well as White’s retirement, have limited Wiegman’s options in forward areas.
Manchester United duo Ella Toone and Alessia Russo – who starred as substitutes in the last tournament – are likely to feature from the start in Australia and New Zealand, while Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly – who top scored in the Women’s Super League having switched from her previous full-back position – provides another option up front.
However, there remains a shortfall elsewhere in the squad, with seven outfield players having never scored for England compared with just two of the side that won the Euros.
The absence of key attackers has led to a decline in England’s scoring output since Euro 2022. The Lionesses have netted 32 goals in their last 11 matches at an average of 2.91 per game, as opposed to 106 in their first 20 outings under Wiegman at a rate 5.30 per game.
Club representationThere are nine clubs represented in England’s World Cup squad, compared with only six at Euro 2022.
Manchester City have provided six players, down from 10 last time but still the most of any club ahead of WSL champions Chelsea and runners-up Manchester United on four apiece.
Meanwhile, Arsenal – the other team involved in this season’s thrilling title race – have only one representative in Lotte Wubben-Moy.
The rest of the squad is made up of three players from Aston Villa, two from Barcelona and one from Bayern Munich, Brighton and Tottenham.
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