Brentford beat Liverpool 3-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium, handing Arne Slot’s side their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat.
Dango Ouattara opened the scoring for the hosts and Kevin Schade doubled their lead, while the visitors pulled one back through Milos Kerkez seconds before the break.
Brentford dominated after the interval and Igor Thiago’s penalty restored the two-goal lead, with the Reds only managing one more goal courtesy of Mohamed Salah.
As it happened
Brentford fielded an unchanged side from their last game against West Ham, and that decision paid dividends immediately, the hosts breaking the deadlock in the fifth minute. Kristoffer Ajer flicked on a long throw from Michael Kayode towards the back post, where Dango Ouattara rattled the ball in with a scissor kick.
Liverpool nearly found a response as Cody Gakpo played a beautifully disguised ball towards Salah, but the latter failed to find his footing in the box, allowing Caoimhín Kelleher to gather.
Florian Wirtz was still searching for his first Liverpool goal and had a great chance to equalize, but his left-footed shot flew past the right post after the ball fell to him kindly in the penalty area.
The attacks kept flowing for Liverpool as Gakpo tried his luck from distance, with his right-footed strike flying over the bar.
Kerkez returned to the starting line-up after missing out in midweek, and he soon joined in on the act, but his left-footed cross failed to find a Liverpool striker and ended up in Kelleher’s hands.
Kayode’s long throws continued to be a threat for Brentford, but Sepp van den Berg’s header lacked pace and precision, landing comfortably into Giorgi Mamardashvili’s hands.
It was a big day for Jordan Henderson, facing the club he captained for years. The midfielder fired his long-range effort from outside the box, the ball fizzing wide past the right post.
The Bees continuously won second balls outside and drew shots outside Liverpool’s box, with Ouattara the latest to fire over.
Brentford came close again through Mikkel Damsgaard, whose powerful drive was aiming for the top corner, and only Mamardashvili’s outstretched arm denied the Dane.
Liverpool also had shots from outside the box, but Curtis Jones’ long-range effort drew a comfortable save from Kelleher.
Arne Slot’s side were ending the half in the ascendancy, but it was Keith Andrews’ team that scored again. Damsgaard found a gap in Liverpool’s defence and played an inch-perfect pass to Kevin Schade, sending the German for a rendezvous with Mamardashvili. The number seven got the better of the Georgian keeper, who had dived the wrong way, doubling Brentford’s lead in the 45th minute.
Liverpool believed they deserved a penalty following a potential foul on Gakpo shortly before Brentford’s goal. However, their spirits were lifted with a goal of their own. Conor Bradley delivered the ball across the face of goal and Kerkez tapped in from close quarters in the fifth minute of stoppage time after a tiny flick from Hugo Ekitiké.
An injury to referee Simon Hooper added to an eventful first half, with Tim Robinson taking charge of the second forty-five, his extended warm-up causing a slight delay to the restart.
And it was Brentford who started the second half brighter despite being in front. Thiago remained quiet in the first half but drew Brentford’s first shot after the restart, his left-footed effort collected by Liverpool’s keeper.
Brentford’s top scorer soon had an even better chance as Liverpool’s high line was exposed once more, but Mamardashvili again came to the rescue and denied the striker’s close-range shot.
Liverpool’s stopper was soon in the spotlight, beating away another powerful shot from Damsgaard with a wonderful save, as Brentford continued to dominate in the second half.
And soon the Bees were rewarded as another penalty decision went their way, this time at Liverpool’s end. Virgil van Dijk’s mistimed tackle caught Ouattara right on the line and Thiago sent Mamardashvili the wrong way, slotting it in down the middle and restoring the two-goal cushion with his seventh goal of the season.
The Reds finally came to life after the hour mark and Salah nearly pulled one back, but a last-gasp defensive challenge by Nathan Collins averted the danger after a scramble on the edge of the six-yard box.
Down the other end, Brentford could have had four, but Ouattara’s free header lacked direction, landing miles away from goal.
The Reds made an array of changes and camped outside Brentford’s box, though it took them a while to create new opportunities, Ekitiké the latest to fire wide past the right post from the edge.
Brentford continued to threaten on the counters, Ouattara heading and missing by inches after a cross from the substitute Keane Lewis-Potter.
But it was Liverpool who got the last goal of the night as Salah handed his side a lifeline. Dominik Szoboszlai intercepted a loose ball on the right before floating the ball into the box for Salah, and the Egyptian only required two touches. Salah brought the ball down with his left foot and smashed it into the top corner with his right, giving Kelleher no chance.
Down the other end Thiago almost scored with a diving header but steered the ball over the bar after Lewis-Potter delivered another sublime ball. And then came an almost endless stoppage time period, with an avalanche of chances for the visitors and some heroic defending by the hosts. A last-minute goalmouth scramble ended with Szoboszlai’s shot into the hands of Kelleher and a final whistle that secured Brentford’s victory.
The line-ups
BRE: Kelleher; Kayode, Van den Berg, Collins, Ajer; Henderson, Yarmoliuk, Damsgaard; Ouattara, Thiago, Schade
LIV: Mamardashvili; Bradley, Konaté, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Szoboszlai, Jones; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Ekitiké