Liverpool scored goals at the end of each half, but it was not enough as the Reds fell to Brentford 3-2 in London. The loss is the fourth in a row in Premier League play, making it only the fourth time in EPL history that the defending champion has lost four in a row.
First Half
Brentford earned a deep throw inside of two minutes, but the danger was cleared. However, another deep throw led to a Brentford goal in the fifth minute. Dango Ouattara poked home a headed cross for a 1-0 lead for the Bees.
Mohamed Salah was back in the Starting XI and got off to a good start, forcing a save in the 10th minute. The Reds started to control possession, but it did not produce many good chances. That changed when Florian Wirtz put a shot just wide in the 20th minute. Hugo Ekitiké sent a header high moments later. Cody Gakpo followed with another shot, but the Reds could not convert.
Just after the half-hour mark, former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson put a shot wide as the momentum shifted back to Brentford. Giorgi Mamardashvili came away with a big save in the 40th minute and Curtis Jones forced a save on the other end. Gakpo was taken down in the box but no penalty was awarded and that led to a Brentford counterattack and that paid off in a goal by Kevin Schade as Brentford led 2-0.
Liverpool pulled a goal back on the final kick of the first half as Milos Kerkez found the back of the net to cut the deficit to 2-1 at the break.
Second Half
Mamardashvili opened the second half with a save and then swatted away a cross in the 55th minute to keep Liverpool in the match. However, the Reds had trouble getting out of the defensive third, and Virgil van Dijk committed a foul in the box. Igor Thiago converted the resulting penalty as the Bees led 3-1.
The Reds nearly scored moments later, but Mohamed Salah had a shot blocked off the line by Sepp van den Berg. Liverpool earned a corner in the 72nd minute, but it did not produce a chance. Ekitiké just missed the bottom corner in the 77th minute.
Salah made things interesting as he scored off a cross from Dominik Szoboszlai to cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into 7 minutes of stoppage time. Brentford earned a pair of corners during that stretch to claim the victory and deny Liverpool a point as the Reds fell by that 3-2 final.
Not Salah's Fault
Salah broke his scoreless streak with a late strike and rewarded Arne Slot for putting him back in the Starting XI with several other chances. The blame lies with the back line as they failed to clear the long throw that led to the first goal, and Van Dijk committed the foul that resulted in the penalty. It will be interesting to hear Slot's thoughts on the matter.
Van Dijk Speaks
The captain was quick to offer his assessments of the match, though, speaking to TNT Sports:
“Disappointed. Disappointed for losing here,” he said. “We know obviously what their strengths were and what they obviously look to try to do. The first goal is something obviously we knew, so we have to be spot on in that - it's a quality of them. Then the second goal to concede is obviously not great. Then the penalty. It was just a very disappointing night overall for us. It's tough to take, but it's the realit,y and we have to keep going."
Falling Fast
Liverpool started the season at 5-0, and now they are 5-4. The Reds have dropped all the way from 1st to 7th during that stretch. The Reds are now just one point ahead of ninth place and tied with eighth-place Aston Villa. There is plenty of time to turn things around, but it has to start now.
LFC Globe Verdict
This was a bad result for Liverpool, but it was not necessarily a bad game. It reminded me a bit of the Manchester United match where Liverpool fell behind early and had to play catch up the rest of the way. They could not quite complete the comeback however. Maybe they can use the Carabao Cup play next week to try to experiment with things and turn the season around.
Man Of The Match
I'm tempted to go with Salah just because he broke his scoreless streak, but for me, Milos Kerkez gets the nod just because he was more creative setting up teammates.
What's Next
Liverpool will host Crystal Palace at Anfield on October 29th in the Carabao Cup.
Goals
Brentford
- Dango Ouattara 5'
- Kevin Schade 45'
- Igor Thiago 60' PK
Liverpool
- Mllos Kerkez 45+'
- Mohamed Salah 89'
Substitutes
Brentford
- Vitaly Janelt for Yehor Yarmoliuk 29'
- Mathias Jensen for Mikkel Damsgaard 79'
- Keane Lewis-Potter for Kevin Schade 79'70'
- Frank Onyeka for Dango Ouattara 90+
- Rico Henry for Kristoffer Ajer 90+'
Liverpool
- Federico Chiesa for Cody Gakpo 61'
- Andrew Robertson for Milos Kerkez 61'
- Alexis MacAllister for Conor Bradley 62'
- Rio Ngumoha for Curis Jones 70'
- Joe Gomez for Florian Wirtz 83'
