Liverpool suffered their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat as Brentford outfought and outclassed them to deservedly earn a 3-2 victory.
Keith Andrews’ side put Liverpool’s penalty area under siege with a flurry of long throws in the first half, with the very first of them resulting in a goal.
Michael Kayode’s hurl from the left flank was flicked on by Kristoffer Ajer at the near post, allowing Dango Ouattara to acrobatically steer home from close quarters.
Florian Wirtz then missed a good chance to get Liverpool level, and Brentford went 2-0 up in the 45th minute as Mikkel Damsgaard’s sublime through-ball set up Kevin Schade for a one-v-one finish.
Liverpool got back within one on the stroke of half-time, with Milos Kerkez turning Conor Bradley’s cross home as Brentford complained that the half-time whistle had not gone.
But rather than wilt, Brentford struck back in the second period.
Virgil van Dijk’s challenge on Ouattara was initially deemed to have taken place outside the box and given as a free-kick by referee Tim Robinson, who had to replace the injured Simon Hooper at half-time, but a VAR review found it was on the line and Brentford were awarded a penalty, which Igor Thiago converted.
Mohamed Salah, who was back in the starting fold after being benched against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, gave Liverpool hope with a brilliant touch and finish in the 89th minute, though he could not turn home at the back post when presented with their best chance to level 11 minutes into stoppage time.
Liverpool finish Saturday sixth in the table and could drop further behind the leading pack by the end of the weekend.
