Brentford handed Liverpool their fourth consecutive defeat in the Premier League as the Bees prevailed 3-2 at Gtech Community Stadium.
Dango Ouattara broke the deadlock after just five minutes, before Kevin Schade made it 2-0; however, Milos Kerkez cut down the deficit to make it 2-1. Igor Thiago converted a penalty to make it 3-1 before Mohamed Salah struck a thunderous goal, which proved to be mere consolation.
Timeline:
5’ – Goal! Dango Ouattara (Brentford) – Close-range finish from Ouattara after a precise build-up.
45’ – Goal! Kevin Schade (Brentford) – Schade buried home from inside the penalty box.
45+5’ – Goal! Milos Kerkez (Liverpool) – Kerkez cut down the deficit with a right-footed close-range finish.
60’ – Goal! Igor Thiago (Brentford) – Thiago successfully converts the spot kick after a foul from Liverpool.
89’ – Goal! Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – Salah scored from the edge of the penalty area.
Final score: Brentford 3–2 Liverpool.
Tactical Breakdown:
Liverpool was again exposed defensively by Brentford’s strength from set pieces and on the counter-attack. The defensive frailty is evident as the Reds have failed to keep a clean sheet in nine games. Brentford were able to break the defensive lines and score from inside the box twice in the first half.
The center-backs failed to deal with simple passes being fired into the box, leaving Giorgio Marmadashvili helpless.
There was a bit of controversy as well, referee Simon Hooper signaled that there would be added time of three minutes, but the play continued for beyond five minutes.
VAR also piled more misery on the Reds as Virgil Van Dijk’s challenge on Ouatarra was deemed to be inside the box. The referee had awarded a free kick initially, but VAR called for a penalty, which was duly converted by Thiago.
It was another poor outing for Mohamed Salah; he was on the periphery for a majority of the match before cutting down Brentford’s advantage to 3-2, but it proved to be too little, too late.
Standout Performers:
Dominik Szobozlai – The Liverpool midfielder set up Salah’s goal while also setting up two key passes with 87% accuracy.
Kevin Schade – The Brentford midfielder played five key passes, scoring himself to make it two goals this season.
Dango Ouattara – Apart from scoring himself, Dango earned the penalty in the second half.
Caoimhin Kelleher – The former Liverpool goalkeeper made 3 saves, helping Brentford win 3 crucial points.
Manager and Player Reaction:
Arne Slot: “We are still, even today, when we don’t play well, able to score two goals. But you cannot compete, which we don’t do at the moment, because we concede too many goals. That is not only the defense you do it with 11 players together.”
Keith Andrews: “I felt we could have dealt with the first goal a little bit better with how they got to that part of the pitch. We’ve worked a lot on how we defend that part of the pitch, but I have to say how we defended – even the attacking players – everyone put their bodies on the line and we got what we deserved.”
Stats and Numbers:
| Stat | Liverpool | Brentford |
| Possession | 66% | 34% |
| Shots | 15 | 17 |
| Shots on Target | 5 | 8 |
| Corners | 4 | 5 |
What It Means:
The defeat meant that Liverpool had slipped to sixth place in the Premier League standings. Brentford’s win helped them to reach 10th place, level on points with Crystal Palace.
Conclusion:
A fourth loss in a row has seen Arne Slot’s side slump to sixth in the standings. They started with five wins back-to-back, but the loss to Crystal Palace has since derailed their run. The Reds will hope to bounce back to winning ways with a meeting against Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Brentford are scheduled to play Palace next.
