Recap

When Liverpool defeated Frankfurt 5-1 in the UEFA Champions League in the middle of the week, they thought they had turned a corner, but they were brutally dragged back to reality in west London. In the simplest of ways, they were undone in the first five minutes when Dango Ouattara hammered in on the volley after Kristoffer Ajer flicked on Michael Kayode’s long ball into the area. Florian Wirtz lost the opportunity to score his first goal for the Reds as he sliced a half-volley wide, while Mohamed Salah nearly responded instantly for the team but was stopped by former Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher. 

Brentford kept looking for more breathing room because they didn’t want to sit on their one-goal lead. Giorgi Mamardashvili had to make a spectacular one-handed save to deny Mikkel Damsgaard as the Bees continued to advance after Jordan Henderson blasted an attempt wide of the goal just after the hour-hour mark. After being denied, Damsgaard took the initiative and sent Kevin Schade racing through on goal with a pass that split the defense. Schade made no mistake in extending their lead. 

However, Keith Andrews’ team was unable to extend their 2-0 lead into halftime. Milos Kerkez seemed at the far post to sweep in Conor Bradley’s pass in the fifth minute of stoppage time under questionable circumstances, even though only three was signaled. After the interval, the Bees maintained their lead, and after Damsgaard was again denied by a spectacular Mamardashvili stop, Brentford was given a penalty after VAR determined that Virgil van Dijk had fouled Ouattara exactly on the line of the penalty area. With his fourth goal in as many games, Igor Thiago took over from 12 yards out and coolly tapped home to give the Bees a two-goal lead again.

After giving up a third goal, Arne Slot immediately went to his bench, making four substitutions in ten minutes in an attempt to rally the team. When he struck off the underside of the bar to end a six-game scoring drought at club level, one of his mainstays, Salah, gave them a late lifeline. However, the goal came too late to keep Liverpool from losing a fifth straight game in London for the first time since 1970, and they stand to lose more ground in the title race tomorrow. With their third victory in four Premier League games, Brentford moved into the top half, making it a memorable evening.