Liverpool

Mohamed Salah fully deserves his place among Liverpool's greatest players, but the lack of respect he showed towards manager Jurgen Klopp at West Ham United was unacceptable.

Salah's disappointment at being left out of the starting line-up for the game against the Hammers is perfectly understandable for a world-class forward who hates missing a minute of the action, let alone a whole game.

This does not excuse, however, his very public altercation with Klopp, who saw his authority challenged in a manner that should bring an apology from Salah, for his petulance during Saturday afternoon's 2-2 draw.

Salah indulged in a prolonged, arm-waving disagreement with Klopp as he waited to come on as substitute, and the mood around the incident was not helped by the fact West Ham equalised before he could be sent on.

It also did not help that Salah, who a rarely offers anything more than a very polite "not today, thank you" to the written media after matches, followed Klopp's insistence that the matter was closed by saying: "There is going to be fire today if I speak."

Instead of dousing this "fire", his words poured petrol on the flames, whether intended or not.

If Salah has a grievance with Klopp, surely they are better aired in private rather than on the touchline during a vital game? It shouldn't be that the unseemly dispute is ended by fellow substitute Darwin Nunez stepping in as peacemaker.

Salah is idolised by Liverpool supporters, and rightly so, after scoring 210 goals in 346 matches since signing from Roma in 2017. He has played a pivotal role in the club's successes, but he is highly unlikely to be the one getting any sympathy from fans after his touchline row with Klopp.

And, for all of the 31-year-old's sustained brilliance and consistency from virtually the moment he arrived at Anfield, Salah could not build a huge argument against Klopp's decision to leave him out.

The German manager would never take such a significant move lightly and there is no question that the Egyptian has not been at his best in recent weeks, after picking up a hamstring injury, delivering a particularly poor performance in the 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat at Everton.

It has also reignited the debate about whether Salah, on £350,000-a-week and 32-years-old in the summer, will be sold as he enters the final year of his lucrative contract.

Liverpool turned away mega money from the Saudi Arabia Pro League last summer. They may yet feel it makes financial sense to accept it this summer, should the offer come in again, as they start a potential rebuild under Arne Slot.

Salah can still play his part in Liverpool's conclusion to the Klopp era, that is currently threatening to become an anti-climax, but Saturday was not the finest moment in his great career at Anfield.

Everton boss Sean Dyche has been speaking to BBC Sport after securing the Toffees' Premier League status for another year: “Incredibly pleased and proud. They are a group of players who have had knocks all season.

"Four out of five clean sheets and wins, with all the mounting noise after the Chelsea game, is incredible. The mentality of the players is fantastic. I'm super pleased and very proud.

"It has been an exhausting week for many reasons, with highs from the big win on Wednesday. The emotion that goes into that, I wondered how the players would respond.

"With our xG, we have been questioned about how many times we haven’t won games. It has paid us back [now].

"They [the players] have had a massive week. There is a lot of pressure and intensity on the week and [whether] you can do it again. In the second half, we controlled the game pretty well.”

On the fact that Everton are mathematically safe from relegation now: "Yeah, of course, that old chestnut - 'You were safe and all that'.

"You were all desperate for Luton to win and for us to lose - this isn't my first rodeo."

James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford have been speaking to Sky Sports after confirming their Premier League status for next season with the 1-0 win against Brentford.

Defender James Tarkowski said: "It [the 6-0 defeat against Chelsea] was the toughest moment of the season. It has been amazing. It has been some week with three wins.

"Today was the toughest game of the three. The lads turned up again [and were] incredible. The work Idrissa Gueye gets through is incredible."

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford added: "Perfect. A big bounce-back from Chelsea. Three games to go and enjoy it [relegation survival].

"There's been a lot of pressure over the last two years, the deductions this year, [but] the lads dug in massively. A perfect week. Three wins and three clean sheets.

"I criticise myself, but I made some crucial saves tonight - the Toney one [stands out]."

Image source, Getty Images

Former Fulham midfielder Michael Brown has been discussing the Toffees' performance against Brentford on BBC Radio 5 Live: "It is not always the prettiest, it is not the most creative, but it is effective and it gets results.

"Everton were in a good position at the start of the season before the points deduction, it was a big blow and they had to recover and they have done so.

"A really good day for Sean Dyche and his team. It wasn't the greatest of games, with just the one shot on target, but they got the job done."

Here are the key facts and figures following Saturday’s game between Everton and Brentford in the Premier League.

• After failing to win any of their first three Premier League meetings with Brentford (D1 L2), Everton have won each of the last three encounters. The Bees have only had a longer losing run against Newcastle United in the competition (an ongoing run of four games).

• Everton have won each of their past four home Premier League games without conceding. It is their longest such run in a single season since their final four games of the 2018-19 campaign under Marco Silva.

• Brentford have now lost 18 Premier League games this season, which is their joint-most in one Premier League campaign along with 2021-22. They last lost more games in a top-flight campaign in 1946-47 (26).

• The Toffees have scored 18 goals from set pieces in the Premier League this season (excluding penalties), with only Arsenal netting more (20).

• Idrissa Gueye has scored three Premier League goals for Everton this season, as many as in his first five campaigns in the competition combined. He has now netted two goals in his past three games in the competition, as many as in his previous 98 appearances.

In-form Everton guaranteed their Premier League survival with three games to spare by edging to victory over lacklustre Brentford.

Sean Dyche's side benefited from Luton losing at Wolves earlier on Saturday, and this result at Goodison Park allowed Everton to leapfrog Brentford into 15th place - 11 points clear of the relegation zone.

Idrissa Gueye was the surprise match-winner, smashing home a first-time finish into the top corner on the hour mark, after reacting quickest to Brentford's defenders failing to clear the ball.

A first half severely lacking in quality was summed up by neither side being able to find a shot on target. Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure should have done better with a volley which he screwed wide from 10 yards out.

The contest improved in the second period and Everton's England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made an excellent stop to deny the returning Ivan Toney.

At the other end, Everton were inches away from breaking the deadlock when Dwight McNeil's thunderous drive from long range rattled the crossbar, before Gueye's goal ensured the Blues maintained their proud top-flight status.

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Dutch football writer Elko Born has been discussing Liverpool's "huge move" for Feyenoord manager Arne Slot, after the Reds agreed a compensation deal worth up to £9.4m with the Eredivisie club.

"Last year, Arne Slot came close to joining Tottenham, and people expected him to take that job," Born told the Euro Leagues podcast. "That didn't happen, but I don't think a lot of people saw Liverpool coming.

"It feels like a huge move for Slot. It is a very big club for him to manage, that is kind of beyond what people expected."

Born also gave some insight on Slot's managerial journey at Feyenoord: "After Erik ten Hag left Ajax, they were a shambles. Arne Slot joined Feyenoord from AZ Alkmaar and, looking back, Ajax would have wanted Slot to succeed Ten Hag.

"But they were dozing off, they were asleep. They didn't see that they had this very talented young manager right near them.

"Feyenoord took him and he turned things around because, even though - budget wise - Feyenoord are the third biggest club in the Netherlands, he made them champions in 2022-23. This season, they have still performed really well.

"To go from the Eredivisie to the Premier League, as a player and a manager, is a huge leap to make.

"So it remains to be seen what will happen there."

Lastly, the Dutch football writer commented on Slot's personality: "Arne Slot is a guy with a lot of charm. He is quite funny sometimes when you talk to him in press conferences.

"What is especially striking about him is that he's able to clearly explain his reasoning behind certain actions.

"Slot is usually able to really articulate his thoughts and he has a clear idea of what he wants his football to look like."

Image source, BBC Sport

Jurgen Klopp's final few months in charge have been building up to a potential fairytale ending but in the space of just a few weeks that has all come crashing down.

Back-to-back defeats and now a draw at London Stadium leave Liverpool third in the Premier League, two points off Arsenal in top spot before they face Tottenham on Sunday and one point off Manchester City, who have two games in hand.

Their hopes of any sort of title challenge now rest on both of their rivals slipping up and, from the reactions of the players after their recent results, it is clear they don't see that as a likely scenario.

In the first half against West Ham, Liverpool did not look like a side who were ready to bounce back from their Merseyside derby defeat in midweek but one who were tired and lacking intensity as they went behind when Jarrod Bowen headed home.

They improved in the second half and came back with goals thanks to Andy Robertson and a West Ham error but still failed to put the fixture to bed and were punished for missed chances when Michail Antonio equalised.

It has been a thrilling title race but it seems Liverpool's involvement in it is all but over and, in turn, the reign of Jurgen Klopp at risk of ending with a whimper.